Topic

Staff Topic

We are back!

And it’s up!  The grand Imagination Conversion of ‘12 completed a few minutes ago.

Two big things in the game changed with this update: we’ve switched to the new Imagination system and overhauled the UI.

Glitches now have Imagination (iMG) instead of experience points (xp).  As you gain Imagination by playing, you can spend it on Upgrades (as well as expanding and cultivating your property … and other stuff, still to come).

The various Upgrade Cards do things like increase your brain capacity, add one-off improvements to skills you’ve learned, increase bonuses for activities in the game and even enable whole new capabilities. You can choose from 3 possible Upgrade Cards at any given time. You’ll be able to “re-shuffle” to see different upgrades once each game day.

We also reorganized and modified the game interface to streamline, simplify and better reflect these changes. Look in the upper left corner to check out the new energy and mood display, as well as the revamped “player menu” (just click on your pretty face). The iMG button next to it opens the “imagination menu” which is the new home for skills, upgrades, and moving back and forth from the surface world to imaginary spaces, like your house.

Of course, there’s a lot more detail than mentioned here.  If you want the nitty-gritty, check out the FAQ! http://www.glitch.com/help/faq/#imagination

So get in game and check it out.  We love reading your feedback and be sure to let us know of any problems you encounter.

See you in game!

---------

Q: Where is the keyring?
A: It is disabled temporarily; it will be back in the game, but not right away.

Q: The new growl messages (explanation/notification text at the bottom of the screen) are bugging me!
A: We are still working on the final design for this, but they will bug you a lot less soon anyway, since a large number of them will just stop showing up and go straight to your activity log (e.g., almost all animal interactions, since those already give you feedback via talk bubbles).

Q: I see random XP notices here and there!
A: We haven't taken all out yet, but we've got most of them cleaned up. If you see something else, go ahead and open a case and we'll be sure it's on the list if it isn't already.

Posted 7 months ago by Mayor Quimby Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Well, I do like what I see so far with one exception - LAG! Beyond the usual in my house with many large stacks lag...this is everywhere all the time lag.

    ETA: maybe freezing is a better word for it. Or a combination of freezing and lagging. Yeah, that.
    Posted 7 months ago by Joe Blow Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Auren, you still know all of your skills. Many of the upgrades are things skills didn't do.
    Also, you got to learn the skills at shorter times than people who are learning them now. (the times just increased)
    Posted 7 months ago by Khetnen Subscriber! | Permalink
  • kevbob - got in with no error this time on my browser running 10.3.
    Posted 7 months ago by Csophae Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am in as well! thank you!
    Posted 7 months ago by Saiai Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It would be super helpful to have SOME idea of the like real imagination costs of home/cultivation expansions.

    I don't want to go hog-wild with character upgrades and then realize I've spent myself out of the home and home-street I'm hoping to have.
    Posted 7 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Fantastic, thanks for the confirmation you are getting back in!
    Posted 7 months ago by kevbob Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Auren: The changes are not as drastic as you would imagine from reading everything, you might change your mind if you try it in-game:) The IMG you were given should be a great start and you should be able to more than buy back what you had before. There are also some cool new upgrades, for example I can now "shake" my elemental pouch once a day and a superharvest from certain trees now gets me 36 instead of 12 extra of the material.
    Edit: And another cool upgrade: Finding Qurazy Quoins randomly! :)

    Question: Does the amount of energy you get from energy quoins depend on your energy tank or your quoin multiplier upgrade? I've upgraded the multiplier and tested it out at the ancient lands, and I feel I am getting the same amount of imagination (or what used to be xp) and currants as I used to before the switch, but I seem to be getting less energy than before. So I'm assuming the amount energy quoins give you depend on your tank? I would love a clarification as it'll determine if I upgrade my energy tank higher or not.
    Posted 7 months ago by Omnika Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Loving the new UI...very clean and intuitive! Didn't have much time to play (about half an hour), but it was long enough to familiarize myself with how the new UI works...can't wait 'til tomorrow, when I'll have a bit more time to play!
    Thank you, TS, as always you're exceeding every expectation!
    Posted 7 months ago by Dahlia DreadNaught Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Question about the magic rock: "Feel free to pay it a visit by clicking on the Imagination bubble at the top left of your window and selecting “Quests.” Okay, I've clicked my quest log and the rock is not there... but I have no quest? So will it not be visible to me (not that it really maters, I'm just curious)?

    Question about Brain Power and Skills: I already have more then 100 skills learned, and right now my "brain capacity" says: 50 skills. So, does this mean I will not be able to attain any new skills until my brain power is over 100? It's confusing to me because one new skill has popped up? 

    Sorry, if I missed the answers .. the tread is moving so fast.Thanks :)
    Posted 7 months ago by Sadie the Goat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • AWESOME update, TS! Thank you! The game just keeps taking giant leaps in the right direction, in my opinion. Excellent job. 

    More specifically:

    I like the way notifications are now shown at the bottom of the screen in white: much easier to see (I never noticed anything that happened in the upper left so it was a total waste), and it doesn't block my view of the game like the old way, so a giant positive change there. It's not distracting to me.

    LOVE the randomness of the upgrade cards: makes this aspect of the game so much more interesting.

    Don't like the lack of a mood bar--I need to see a more quantitative descriptor of how much I have (I like analog clocks better than digital because the amount of space that hand has to move to get to the time I'm interested in gives me instant information in my brain about the actual length of time involved, and is more intuitive than trying to do math and process numbers--the expression on an avatar face is too far in the other direction: not detailed enough--only showing wide bins of information, like the hour hand suddenly shifting to the next hour rather than gradually moving toward it.... if that makes any sense).

    Love the expanded vocabulary and accessibility of Sloths as well, assuming that's new and I didn't miss it before. 

    Can't think of anything else specific right now--overall LOVE IT!!!
    Posted 7 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well, this is my opinion and you don't have to agree. :)
    I didn't like much this interface. There's something about the navigation that was working better on the previous one. I've been playing Glitch already for more or less one year and it's a normal thing that this big changes can somehow be weird at the beginning and eventually one gets used after. But there are some details I would like to point.
    I felt more confortable having the menu on the right side instead, as it is now, on the left.
    It took me some time to find out how to open the bags with only one mouse click. Maybe because of all those numbers down i haven't noticed (at first) the plus (+) there.
    Somehow i didn't get used yet to the new energy bar and mood (±bar?)... Feels like all is decreasing faster (mood and energy), I don't know why. Did you change the speed/percentage of mood/energy reduction?
    The text on the bottom is also a bit difficult to see. And in general (and this is very important)
    felt more like playing with a glass window on the middle seeing from inside-out. This reduces the immersion of the player.
    Anyway I understand the need of change, but  somethings, in my opinion (underline this last word) need some analysis and reflexion.
    Well, and because I am here testifying about my experience with the new interface, I  also would like to speak about something that wasn't changed and that needs: The chat.
    Sometimes i can't notice that people were writing to me. It's impossible to keep the track of everything. The simple solution would be to reduce the length of that contact list, the bottom one (where we select the contacts and groups), and increase it on the top where we have the list of the current chats.
    Anyway, it's good to be playing Glitch and my respect for you guys for this wonderful work!
    :)
    Posted 7 months ago by Kul Koba Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm in game, but I can't stop moving. Or use keyboard to enter anything.
    Posted 7 months ago by Saiai Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Pascale: budget about 100k iMG for fully upgrading your current yard and home street and you should have some left over at the end.

    Omnika: the energy tank does not effect the amount you get from energy quoins (or, at least, it should not — still tracking down some bugs).

    Joe Blow: performance seems a bit worse for me too, but that is something we are working on constantly. It'll get better.
    Posted 7 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Sadie: No, I believe you can learn as many skills as you want. The brain capacity works with the same concept as better learning did; the more brain capacity you have, the less time it takes you to learn additional skills.
    And as for the magic rock, I do have quests but I didn't find him either when I clicked on my quests.

    Edit: Thanks for the answer, Stoot! :)
    Posted 7 months ago by Omnika Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think I see the problem a lot of people are having with the new system for buying skill benefits, and it is a difference of perspective between the staff and the player base.

    From the staff's perspective, everything is the same, but dressed up different, and with some flashy new jewelry to go along with it. Everything is still in place, but it just takes a little bit more effort (imagination) to get to the good stuff. But since everyone has a large imagination pool right now, it's not that big a deal. (This is the impression I'm getting from a lot of the staff posts, anyway.)

    But from the player's perspective, not only have things been taken away, but you have to actually PAY to get them back. Not only that, but you're using a shiny new currency to do it. Currency that is also needed for things like housing upgrades, and maybe even new things in the future. It is a new currency, and nobody is really sure of its value.

    Yes, the entire point of the way the conversion went was to give us all a large imagination pool to reclaim everything we lost, and in theory, doing so should logically use up most or all of the imagination we currently have. But to the player, that's not how it is at all. This is a precious commodity that we're blasting through at an alarming rate, and the complication is how there isn't a very solid idea of how easy that commodity will be to replenish yet. Tack on the fact that suddenly, all the level 60 players out there with all the skills suck at doing EVERYTHING, everyone still wants to conserve some imagination for housing upgrades, and nobody is quite sure what the point of skills are anymore to begin with, and you're gonna end up with a quite large group of unhappy people.
    Posted 7 months ago by Aeralis Subscriber! | Permalink
  • humm Omnika.. what does "Shake" do?

    Also I LOVE that we can visit our Magic Rock for quests... whoever just mentioned that... thanks for telling me where to go, that's rad.

    < tiny smiles >
    Posted 7 months ago by ♪♥~ Auren ~♥♪ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Omnika, thank you for the insight on brain power :)
    Posted 7 months ago by Sadie the Goat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Stoot's post reminded me that yes, I am also experiencing performance issues that didn't previously exist: flash crashed for the first time in I don't know how long, and there is more lag that not only affects the game but other browser tabs I have open. I often listen to Pandora Radio in a separate tab while playing Glitch, and before this upgrade the only place where the radio station was screwed up was when I was crossing the mid-point of my /home after first entering it (pauses the music, then messes it up so badly that sometimes it stops that song and just starts on another--weird). For the first time now I was getting that from doing other simple things like selling to the tool vendor.
    Posted 7 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Aeralis: I disagree — there's a small minority of unhappy people, not "a quite large group". We could have just automatically given everyone the corresponding upgrades to go with their skills (taking the corresponding amount imagination in the process), but we figured most people would want to choose for themselves — not everyone still uses/relies on all the skills they chose in the past. Some people recognize this and enjoy it; others are near complete emotional collapse. But … some people are near complete emotional collapse any time we change (or even discuss changing) anything. So that can't really be a guide for our decisions.
    Posted 7 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Shepherdmoon-

    "I often listen to Pandora Radio in a separate tab while playing Glitch
    "

    Please, definitely keep a second browser handy for other applications.
    Posted 7 months ago by kevbob Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So, I'm in game. Normally, if I let up on an arrow key, I would stop running. No longer. I run to the end of the screen and then continue running for some time. Jumping doesn't stop my run. I can hit enter to pull up an item menu, but not enter to select anything.
    Posted 7 months ago by Saiai Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "  Some people recognize this and enjoy it; others are near complete emotional collapse. But … some people are near complete emotional collapse any time we change (or even discuss changing) anything. "

    Yes in fact I would classify myself as someone who is near emotional collapse.  Not even just about the game; I mean in general.

    :: smiles ::

    ... :: bursts out crying ::
    Posted 7 months ago by ♪♥~ Auren ~♥♪ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Auren: Hugs! Hope you will feel better soon. And as for "shaking", your elements get jiggy with it and make more elements ;)
    @Sadie: Np:)

    I think we need some perspective on the fact that this is day 0 of the new change and while imagination seems very precious right now, it's exactly as easy to earn imagination now as it was to earn xp before. Perhaps it's even easier (and more fun) to earn imagination than it was to earn XP with the new qurazy quoins! :) I know I get excited everytime I see a message that there's a qurazy quoin.
    And it may seem like you can't get the upgrades you want right now, but remember we get a free reshuffle each day (plus there's re-shuffle cards you may randomly find too in the deck), and most of the upgrades are very cheap :)

    Edit: Oops, not free reshuffle, thanks for the correction Erak. :) But practically free, for 170 IMG! :)
    Posted 7 months ago by Omnika Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So do the upgrades stack? I have both Special Herbs and Super Special Herbs, does that make super harvest 50% or 30%?
    Posted 7 months ago by MarbhDamhsa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Hey there devs and stoot and kevbob and all!!!

    I just wanted to say that I, personally, LOVE the upgrades.  They make our "xp" actually mean something in terms of the game, and I've already seen a bunch of things from the Ideas forum implemented through the cards.

    So THANK YOU!
    Posted 7 months ago by Zoethor2 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oohhh hadn't thought of *that* aspect -- "  I've already seen a bunch of things from the Ideas forum implemented through the cards. "

    Yeah I guess this gives them a wildly larger amount of ability to implement ideas from the forums.  I like that.
    Posted 7 months ago by ♪♥~ Auren ~♥♪ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • In cebarkul there's still a mood quoin. Is that supposed to be?
    Posted 7 months ago by Codex Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Stoot - I think there are probably more people who are unhappy with, or at least experiencing some malaise about, having to re-purchase all the benefits of skills they have already learned, but they feel that it's more grief than it's worth to complain and receive a flippant dismissal from the staff and get made to feel like a school kid in detention.

    Auren - I completely understand how you're feeling. Don't take any of the rude replies to heart. You're going through a really tough time right now, and we're here for you.  Feel better hun, we lobe you! ::hugs::
    Posted 7 months ago by Aurora Dellaterra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't think the daily reshuffle option is free. There's a small Img cost to it.
    Posted 7 months ago by Erak Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Some people got a brain capacity of 50? Mine is only at 32 even though I had Better Learning already maxed out... I guess my previous 'level' wasn't high enough for the re-calculation to have given me all the Better Learning equivalent things? Gah. Now I've got to wait 19 days to learn the last two skills, when it was much MUCH lower just yesterday. This really bothers me. (Also, I'd already started learning one of those last two skills, but the reset cut that out apparently and lost all that time :( )

    Sure I can try to purchase more upgrade cards, but thanks to the random generation and the reshuffle limit, I won't have any iMG left by the time I get to any :(

    Not super happy about having to re-purchase the other things I already learned either (though the new and different upgrades thing is also cool), but the learning speed thing is the worst by far.
    Posted 7 months ago by Not A Brontosaurus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am lovin the upgrade's.....really love the card's. Please keep up the great work :)
    Posted 7 months ago by 2020smoke Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love the cards! And I've got no problems with picking and choosing which skills I want to upgrade, even though I had learned them all(ish). I don't see what the big problems are that have people so upset. But I'm really enjoying playing glitch, changes and all. Thanks devs!
    Posted 7 months ago by glassy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Hi, I've seen a few people ask this and I haven't seen an answer. Maybe I missed the answer, but I am just wondering what the deal is with the for example, speed up mining learning by 15% when i already have that skilled learned. Thesecards are of no benefit once you have the skill already, right? Just want to be sure before i discount them or re shuffle them. Nice UI guys thanks!
    Posted 7 months ago by Kalli Subscriber! | Permalink
  • N.A.B - Happened to me too. I had BL maxed out, but my brain capacity only converted to 37, not 50. *sigh*
    Posted 7 months ago by Aurora Dellaterra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I checked the upgrades "given during conversation", and (among lots of "Speedy" and "Unlearning" upgrades), it says "Rube Radar" at the end.

    However, I just got offered the Rube Radar and had to buy it for 5000 iMG. Bug?
    Posted 7 months ago by Louis Louisson Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There is no automatic daily reshuffle. You get the same cards you had the previous game-day. THEN you can pay to reshuffle.

    (Personally, I think this might be better with a change: Fresh cards every game day, plus the ability to put a HOLD one or two cards when you do your paid reshuffle.)
    Posted 7 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I was a little freaked out about how expensive the energy tank upgrades were - then I did the math, and realized that going from lvl 39 to 40 (old system) cost, I can't remember, like 150,000 XP and got me 30 more energy. Perspective, I haz it now.

    Only thing that's a real big problem is the zooming growl notifications at the bottom. I'm hearing impaired, so I'm totally used to text at the bottom of the screen. So I really like that part. But I'm also very prone to motion sickness (do not even ask me to go see a hand-held cam film in a theater) and the zooming off the screen thing is going to make me puke. It just is. There's no getting around it. I'm begging you - make it fade out, or scroll up and disappear like closed captioning, or something. But please, please, no more zoomy text.
    Posted 7 months ago by blitheandbonny Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think rather than saying "You can increase your brainpower by x..." we need a more definitive statement.

    "Purchasing this card WILL increase your brainpower by x."

    It would be helpful to have a clear idea what increasing one's brainpower actually means, too.
    Posted 7 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 to what Aurora said.

    What I don't like is having to wade through random upgrade cards I'm dealt and then having to buy one of them - even if I don't need/want it - just to get to the next one.  Totally broken user experience.
    Posted 7 months ago by Sooriyan Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Aww thanks Aurora.  <3  Lobe you. <3
    Posted 7 months ago by ♪♥~ Auren ~♥♪ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The lag is really painful
    Posted 7 months ago by chilirlw Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Huh. I too was maxed out with BL, and even after purchasing some brain expansions, I now only have a 48 skill capacity. Is this a bug?
    Posted 7 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yea, mine were only at 37 instead of 50 even though I had BL maxed. I can't imagine I didn't have enough iMG to cover it either, at 1.6 mil (I bought two +3 cards for a total of 90k iMG which put me at 43). So I am a little confused on that point, since earlier I read that the number had been raised.
    Posted 7 months ago by Little Miss Giggles Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ooo, I have an idea. Let us pay some imagination to NEVER SEE A CERTAIN CARD AGAIN!

    For example, "Making Metal." I hereby let you know that I have zero interest in hearing metal music while making metal. Deal that one out, plz! And I'm willing to pay to never see it again.
    Posted 7 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • LMG - yeah, I ended up with 1.4 mil iMG, but didn't get all my BL benefits. Hoping it's a bug. Also hoping that, if it's not a bug, that it's not gonna cost me 1.4 mil iMG to get all the BL benefits :/

    Sooryian - yeah, I don't like that either. Feels like a rip-off to have to pay NOT to buy something.
    Posted 7 months ago by Aurora Dellaterra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Soorian

    How about waiting a game day and reshuffle the deck?

    I heard about some people who apparently got 200 cards already. I bought ~10 cards and decided to call it a day, until I figure out what I really want, need or am supposed to need.
    Posted 7 months ago by Louis Louisson Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I just wish the speed learning cards didn't appear if you have all those related skills. 
    Posted 7 months ago by Tibbi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Louis - I realize I could wait a game day, but I still have to pay to reshuffle - and that still doesn't guarantee I'll get anything I want/need.  So, just wait one more game day, huh?

    The way you describe it sounds like just another way to generate more logins.
    Posted 7 months ago by Sooriyan Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Whee! I can finally see what Upgrades I got during conversion!

    http://www.glitch.com/profiles/PUVBCPKKJCE2RHJ/upgrades/
    Posted 7 months ago by Mal'akh Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Sooriyan

    I guess I am just as clueless as all of us here about the whole effect of the upgrade and possibly "best practices", but as far as I can see, the 115 iMG to reshuffle are basically nothing. At the moment, I get 314 iMG for every "Crazy Coin" (and thankfully did not have time to explore the new areas since the fox&sloth update).

    My guess is just that right at this moment, we all obviously want everything NOW and RIGHT NOW. If Glitch has taught me anything, then it is how impatience often leads you to do things that in hindsight seem pretty hasty. I used to massivly donate stuff to speed up learning process, but realized later that I could have easily waited those 3 days more.

    So before I make up my mind about the cards upgrade, I will buy a few cards every day, just to see in which direction the whole thing goes (at least, that's the plan... I won't guarantee that I might not get into a card-frenzy attitude and try to buy 100 tomorrow; I'll talk to you then and apologize ;)).
    Posted 7 months ago by Louis Louisson Subscriber! | Permalink