Topic

A better place for ideas

Hi guys, I have tons of ideas all the time, and I bet some of you relate with that, but having an idea category in the off-forum it's kinda limiting, good ideas often sink, and we kinda forget about them, I wish we had a better place for them, something like the photo snaps, a place where you could like them, add comments, follow great ideas, see how they grow, check all comments, etc. Also see whats popular, what people liked most, what staff liked, stuff like that.

I think because this is the game of imagination, ideas should have a better place in the game. And maybe replace the voting thing. Why not let people give the ideas and if it gets popular, spend some votes on them and make it happen?

And staff could pick the best ones before the vote, just to make sure they are possible and aligned with the game path.

Also staff could create there own ideas, see how people react to them, etc, etc...

Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • <---- Ideas forum ;)
    Posted 5 months ago by WeavingTheWeb Subscriber! | Permalink
  • yeah I know @WebWeaver ;)

    I just think stuff like this and this work very well...
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This snap is excellent, too.
    Posted 5 months ago by TomC Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Just because we have great ideas doesn't mean they're going to do them.  
    Posted 5 months ago by WalruZ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ya I forgot about that one @TomC thanks!

    @Walruz yup, but still, it's better.
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It seems like the ideas sink into the nether regions of the ideas forum, but if you watch the staff responses there you'll find that they read every dang one of them, and they remember them!

    Seriously, there can be no better place to put your ideas.

    Now, if what you want is popularity, with lots of +1s, then I suggest you plug your idea in your updates feed.  You'll find that if your friends really like your idea, they're likely to do the same, and it spreads really quick from there.  Also, the added traffic makes the ideas forum more vibrant and exciting.

    I find the ideas forum better than the General forums as it is, myself, and make it a point to check there before entering the world every day.  But keep the following in mind:

    Just because an idea is popular with the players, it doesn't mean that TS is going to like and implement it.  And just because no other player comments on it, it doesn't mean TS is going to miss or ignore it.  They're record shows that while popularity does help an idea, they really think these things through before putting them on their to-do list.  Which is what we should expect from a half-way decent business, let alone a cool one like TS.
    Posted 5 months ago by Carl Projectorinski Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Arizoo, not sure why you linked the 2nd one?
    It's just a small cabinet with a shelve and a note pole on either side... not something TS needs to invent for us?
    Posted 5 months ago by WeavingTheWeb Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Now, something I really like about your suggestion is that there is one problem in the ideas forum:  People keep posting the same ideas!

    If it was more searchable, like the snaps pages as you say, it would cut down a little on that.  But probably just a little.
    Posted 5 months ago by Carl Projectorinski Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Carl, no one is after popularity here, just like to see ideas grow, it's good to watch how people react to them, and what they bring to the discussion.

    You can't really comment on an idea that was posted 6months ago, and I don't think ideas and forum posts should be treated in the same way.
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @WebWeaver thats what you see there, not what I see ;) I see a lemonade stand. or something with a lot of possibilities.
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Simply agreeing to implement any idea that is popular with vocal segments of the player population regardless of the idea is a terrible business plan.  Just because something is popular doesn't mean it is good: see Shades of Gray or Justin Beiber.   

    Something can also be unpopular with all your vocal vets yet good for the future of the game, good for its ability to interest new players, or necessary to pace out content.  A "democratically" run game design plan could easily lead to vocal vets actually killing the game, encouraging policies that are good for them and thus popular that discourage new players, an incestuous little vicious circle.  

    If I were an investor, and they changed to this system, I'd immediately be looking to pull out.  
    Posted 5 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • man someone is stalking me...
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • or my posts...
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Just forget about voting part, thats too complicated...
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • No arizoo, I just read and post in the forums almost every day.  

    If you'd like to talk stalking, we can discuss your arrival in the chat where I am a moderator immediately following your last comment to me after our last discussion and your reoccurring appearances there.  Given that this is public, and there is only semi-public and the other mods immediately asked if I was okay with your presence, who is stalking who exactly?
    Posted 5 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Saucelah I don't know you from anywhere, I never talked to you, I don't care what chats your are moderating, stop being annoying! Every time I post something you come here and start to say bad stuff about it and create problems from nowhere what is your problem?? seriously...
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • *breaks out the popcorn*

    Also the ideas forum is just fine the way it is IMO. About the only thing I could suggest is some way of making it a bit easier to see what ideas have and have not been suggested already so as to avoid the same things being posted ad nauseum.
    Posted 5 months ago by Fauxfire π Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Bad stuff?  Do not confuse me disagreeing with now two of your ideas that you posted publicly with any personal vendetta against you.  Seriously.   

    If you find it annoying for someone to disagree with you, don't put out ideas -- someone somewhere will always disagree.   

    I'm not going to stop posting to the forum just because you do not like me.  I'm not going to avoid disagreeing with your ideas just because you react badly to my disagreement.   If you can't accept that, we can talk about it in game.  Anything beyond simply disagreeing with your idea here is in your head.  
    Posted 5 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Sounds like Saucelah is being a passive aggresive jerk.
    Posted 5 months ago by Riddleguy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Saucelah my fault, you are the nicest people I ever met. Wish everyone would be like you.

    And forget about my stupid ideas, I wont post them here anymore.
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So wait.
    Let me get this straight.
    You throw an idea out there.
    It's not a very well thought out idea (especially looking at the logical side of this) and someone comes and explains the holes in your theory and suddenly that's stalking and you get all mad and start a tantrum? Very mature especially considering you are trying to spread an idea and make it seem worth while. Not a very good campaign move.

    Needless to say, the concept is interesting but completely unrealistic. The ideas forum is used in the way it should be used and player ideas get implemented all the time. (see: bacon) there's no need for a change.

    *edit* and NOW your pulling the whoa me I'll never post here again. Just block sauce if you hate him/her so much. Problem solved.
    Posted 5 months ago by Clickadee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I wouldn't call them stupid.  Arizoo, I'm simply speaking my mind, explaining why I think this idea is bad. That does not mean I think it is stupid, just not something I want to have happen.  And I think that comes from misconstruing what your intent was behind voting, reading that if it replaced the subscriber votes we would be voting to make ideas happen rather than choosing among ideas that the game designers feel should happen.  

    It's not personal.  Nor is it passive aggressive.  Nor is it specific to you: I post a lot, and when I disagree I post my thoughts as to why.  

    There is no need to read any malicious intent into my disagreement.  If you'd like to talk about it, feel free to IM.  If you'd like to have someone else approach me on your behalf, feel free to have them IM.   But stop with silly accusations of stalking: I didn't pay any attention to whom you were, just what you wrote.  
    Posted 5 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • To quote a line from Megamind "Girls, girls, you're both pretty!" =P
    Posted 5 months ago by Fauxfire π Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If you want your ideas to not sink into the morass of posts on the Ideas forum, maybe post them there but also post them somewhere else?  Like on your feed or on noteboards in your street or in a room in your tower (if you have one).  

    arizoo, I know you as a player who knows a lot of the secrets of this game (especially the secret places)--I would visit your ideas room regularly to see what you have to say.
    Posted 5 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oy! :)
    Posted 5 months ago by Patricia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Saucelah you have a problem, you go from jerk to sweet in milliseconds, and that doesn't come in upgrade cards! feel free to confuse everyone here, most people know me well.
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I always forget to check the other forums :-P
    I LOVE the Charlie Brown 'Doctor is In' idea!
    Posted 5 months ago by Stormy Weather Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Suffice it to say, I don't think I've been a jerk or sweet.  I've been a bit amazed by your reaction, and initially allowed that surprise to show.  But that's been about it.  There's nothing personal about talking about ideas at all.  

    But nobody really wants to read this conversation.  

    if you'd like to talk to someone else about it, I can give you a list of people that have "authority" over me in that community you claimed not to know about where you recently announced your exit.   
    Posted 5 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Pity, I had something useful to add based on the OP, but this thread went off the rails.
    Posted 5 months ago by Sturminator i` Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Playing innocent now?

    And I'm curious about what those "authority" people, have to say about it. I know most of them well, and never had any kind of problems with them, in fact I never had any kind of problems with anyone here, except with ima, but most people had probs with him, and I doubt someone asked if you were ok with my presence in PBMS.

    And I'm wondering why you bring that subject here now... if you don't wanna talk in public... 

    Boy wake up.
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Sorry about that @stur.
    Posted 5 months ago by arizoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You know Saucelah, you could just stop posting in this thread instead of saying "nobody really wants to read this conversation". Because nobody really wants to read this conversation. Take it to IM or whatever.
    Posted 5 months ago by Victoria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ok, let's close this for a wee bit. Will followup shortly however!
    Posted 5 months ago by kevbob Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ok! WRT Forums in general: So, there are some things that could make all the forums work better, not any one of the categories- we know this. And some things we are thinking of to not funnel most traffic through General. It will not happen right away- most hands that push code are 'on deck' with game content, improvements, fixes etc. (and have been for awhile).  About Ideas- there are certainly lots of great ideas posted in there. Lots! We talk about many of them internally, share links with each other, and discuss- some are considered! Some we post that we are considering it. With anything posted, it  might not make it past a pile of other things we have to do or what Stoot and the designers have envisioned. When we re-open, and more players are joining, more ideas will be posted, keep in mind.

    All that said, regarding discussion in this and any thread, please everyone, try to remember one of the things we mention in our Community Guidelines, that says 'Avoid assuming bad intentions in other players'. This goes for discussing things in the forum too, ok? If you feel the need to go on the offensive about something, or where it starts to get personal, just step away for awhile. Don't post in that case. Thanks!
    Posted 5 months ago by kevbob Subscriber! | Permalink
  • *Peeks out from underneath rock*

    Is it safe to start discussing the OP now?

    Ok, here goes.

    Something I think would be a cool forum feature, and is kind of along these lines, would be automatic tags for the "status" of all the posts. Tags could include "Read by staff," "Replied by staff," etc. That way people would know for sure that their post has been heard, and isn't just fading into obscurity. Maybe that would make people feel better?
    Posted 5 months ago by Aurora Dellaterra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love the tagging idea. I would extend the "Replied by staff" tags to the Bug forum & General as well. Staff replies to posts are one of the ways I try to keep up with game changes.
    Posted 5 months ago by Aleph Zero Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Aurora! A voice of reason. i hope the staff agree :)
    Posted 5 months ago by Patricia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • nice, Aurora!
    Posted 5 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Every single thread is read by staff :)

    Regarding ideas in the general sense, this is a good thing to keep in mind: twitter.com/GeordieGuy/stat...
    Posted 5 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Stoot, re: that quote - I totally understand. I'm definitely not trying to convey the idea that  EVERY IDEA EVER should be incorporated into the game. I'm just hypothesizing about what people actually want when they post to the forums - to be heard and acknowledged, I think.

    ETA: What I also had in mind with the "Replied by staff" tag was a way to easily scan the forums for question posts where you know reliable information has been provided, rather than player speculation.
    Posted 5 months ago by Aurora Dellaterra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 for forum tags and ++1 for a "contains Staff reply" tag.
    Posted 5 months ago by Squiggle-Squee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Please.

    An ideas ... not a forum, a feature. A place we can add in.

    Definitely one step towards the 'imagination unlimitable creativity' stuff that I think TS should be going towards. Something new, something unique, something good.
    Posted 5 months ago by Palindrome Subscriber! | Permalink