Topic

Street Projects have sucked all the fun out of Glitch

I have been around in Glitch since the launch (which has now been unlaunched?) And I must say, all of the fun I was having in Glitch is now gone thanks to the street projects. Before when building Callopee and Pollokoo the streets had a lot of people on them, but not to the point where you could barely move without lag. People were striving to work together to contribute, with requirements that were high enough that even if someone had a massive hoard built up, by the time the phase rolled around again they wouldn't have anymore. People had fun while the project was going. Cubimals were raced. Dice were rolled. Various game tickets were used. Now it is just a massive cluster of people making it so you can barely do a thing. All the previous fun that I had during the earlier projects has been completely eradicated by the hoards of people at the new projects, by those who contribute everything at once so I can't donate my measly stock of items. I don't know about anyone else, but to me this is not enjoyable.

Edit: Also the vendors in Rassana are horribly off in proportion. 

Posted 13 months ago by Sethy Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • Perhaps give it some time. Let the hoarders run out of their stock and things should calm down.
    Posted 13 months ago by Malus Agricola Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If it has sucked all of the fun out, stay away from the street projects and do something else fun. There are great hoardes because people have been stocking up for the projects. If new street projects continue to happen, these vast supplies will be depleated and the work crews will become more managable - and for you, apparantly, more fun. Be patient.

    eta: I say too much. The poster above me said the same thing in 20% of the words and therefore stole my point :)
    Posted 13 months ago by Kookaburra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm not sure it has much to do with hoarders running out of their stock.

    I managed to miss previous street projects, so I was looking forward to participating this time around. I'd stockpiled some blocks and bricks, having read that these were needed for street projects. I had no chance to use these or anything else in my inventory.  For the two projects I participated in, none of the items I had on me were items needed. I was able to cook/craft some of the items needed, but by the time I was finished these were no longer needed, so I ended up with more inventory rather than less. I was able to contribute some labor, but this ended up feeling more like a button-mashing contest than participating in a team effort. The local chat was fun, but there were too many people on the street for cubimal races and such to work well.

    This may be a good example of why the devs are planning some big changes.
    Posted 13 months ago by Splendora Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I can't deal with crowds, slow connection, so they make me crash. So street projects are great for me! I see where they are and run away and where I end up tends to be nice and quiet because the swarms of people are all busy with the project. There's always a bright side :D
    Posted 13 months ago by Ebiler Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't think I'll ever manage to get the Street Project badges based on how it was going last night. It was... brutal.
    Posted 13 months ago by Stuv Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Instanced streets needed.
    Posted 13 months ago by Volkov Subscriber! | Permalink
  • if the street projects have sucked all the fun out of it for you, why not simply not do street projects?  if you were having fun before, you should be able to have fun just fine now. oddly, street projects are not happening on every street.

    you don't have to go.
    Posted 13 months ago by flask Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I both agree with Sethy, since I loved street projects in beta, but they're crazy now (I was around for a final phase of one of the Rasana projects and it was done in under three minutes, I think), and some of their critics, like flask. I quickly ducked out of the swarm, got a couple of area completist badges I'd overlooked, and did some relaxing firefly harvesting. Much more fun.

    I've found plenty to do in the last couple of months without street projects. If they calm down, get instanced, or get scaled up for more players, that's great; I'll try them again then. If not, that's fine too; Ur's a big place (and getting bigger, again) and there's lots to do in the meantime.
    Posted 13 months ago by blech Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm not going to make any blanket statements -- my views on the dynamics of street projects are on record here -- but I do think that their revival points to a larger scaling problem. Generating new regions and locations is somewhat time-consuming for TS, so it's going to take a while before there can be, say, a dozen or so new streets under construction at once, which is one way to reduce per-project numbers. Another way to calm things down a little is to increase quantities for phase elements, but that still rewards hoarders and high-skill grinders, and isn't much fun for casual participants.

    TS has spoken about remaking the project process, so I'm sure that none of my thoughts are new to them, but dealing with the scale (from a perspective of gameplay, not server resources) makes me think that projects could benefit from more quest-like elements: create a petition in-game, get it signed off by X number of players, take it to the bureaucrocs for a specific building permit, etc. -- the kind of dynamics that may fit well with the forthcoming shift to user-driven housebuilding/customisation.

    (I was around for a final phase of one of the Rasana projects and it was done in under three minutes, I think)

    Three-minute blitzkrieg project phases separated by 20-minute gaps are, let's say, suboptimal. The ideal end result of whatever tweaks are planned? A player who has never heard of street projects but stumbles across one one should find it in progress, not in a post-phase cooldown.
    Posted 13 months ago by Holgate Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Another problem now, as opposed to how it was in beta, is that the top 5 are no longer guaranteed a trophy piece; so the hard-core hoarders are going to be dumping massive amounts of stuff to get trophies (which were hard to enough to get as it was) for longer, squeezing out the mid-level donators...
    Posted 13 months ago by Bobby Chuckles Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I've talked with Sethy, so I'm sure you understand my position on this as well..

    I enjoyed street projects as well in Beta 1.0. It was fun, sometimes you'd stumble across one in the wee hours of the morning and there'd be maybe 2-5 people there! Sometime none!

    But now, just getting near the street (NOT even on it!) makes me lag. Getting to the actual vendor to see? Good luck.

    Even with the 4 projects going on at the same time, it's difficult. You go to one in hopes that there won't be as many. By the time you get there to check, you're too lagged to attempt to go to another street besides "anywhere but here."
    Posted 13 months ago by Jessabelle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I posted about this a few weeks ago:

    Please read and comment!
    http://www.glitch.com/forum/ideas/11748/
    Posted 13 months ago by Zu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I had read something about them wanting to change the system before releasing new street projects, so I was surprised to learn this was the same as the old system.  I suspect it was just released as a distraction with all of yesterday's announcements, disappointments, and excitements.  

    Instancing the street with the active project isn't really a feasible solution with the way this game works.   Do the instances have exact copies of the animals and trees from the original street?  What happens if I hogtie a piggy from instance C -- does he disappear from the original?  Can I poison a tree in the instance and make it die in all of them?  That sounds like more server strain, not less.  But with the upcoming changes, perhaps things will work differently.  

    Someone suggested somewhere that projects be done from the Bureaucratic Halls, but I think there's only 3 of those -- and with lag being a problem even with 4 simultaneous projects, 3 locations is clearly not enough.   This idea could possibly work if they drop a hall in every region though.  

    There seem to be 2 major issues with the projects: lag, and low amount of required resources that enables the project to end only minutes after it has started.  I'd guess there's at least 10x more players now than in the last beta, so the requirements should be increased at least 10 fold as well.  And some new system that does not require everyone waiting in the same location will solve the lag.  

    I give Tiny Speck more and more credit every day for learning, trying, and changing, so I'm rather confident this will get better.  
    Posted 13 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'd guess there's at least 10x more players now than in the last beta, so the requirements should be increased at least 10 fold as well.

    The requirements were cranked up during the last round of projects I paid attention to, but that's not much of a fix, because it sets up a dynamic where hoarders hoard even more, and casual projecteers' contributions feel insignificant. I like some of Zu's suggestions about limits, and especially like the general principle of encouraging small, meaningful contributions from a larger number of players.
    Posted 13 months ago by Holgate Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Just to further expand a little bit, I have been in somewhat of a slump. Having explored most of everything and been trying to get currants for Cubimals I have found myself in a rut. The past few weeks I would constantly come on for a minute or two simply to check to see if a street project was going on, only to be disappointed. 

    For me, when I was a lower level and participated in the creation of Callopee and Pollokoo, it was a fun experience. I met a lot of amazing people and had so much fun with those people. Now it just seems like the phases are over so quickly that I can't even contribute much. What is the point of contributing if I can't do it all at once? It seems like at that rate it will be impossible to hit the Head Honcho badges. Before it was more of a choice. If you wanted to get top 5 it was easy to put in some time during the day to get the resources you needed, then find a street project that required those resources. Now, everyone already has what is needed, and everything just seems overcrowded.

    There needs to be some way to change the street projects to give people a fair shot at contributing and be competitive at it, and not have it based on who has the fastest internet connection and the biggest stash (not to say that those who put in the work to get the stash should be punished for it). 
    Posted 13 months ago by Sethy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I had never visited a street project since I'm new but wow...it sucked BAD.

    There should be a limit on what you can donate and just take the trophy aspect out of it entirely; it only encourages hoarding and then mass-unloading of crap. 

    Also - remove or limit the food part of the street project.  Im a miner.  I barely cook (I can make Lemburgers and that is good enough for me) and yet 75% or more of the activity in the projects I tried to take part in were cooking based.  That is a joke.

    Im a miner, let me dig my way into being part of the project and I'd enjoy it.  Make it so that everyone can contribute and get a shiny badge for their effort and time.  Take out the competition from it, because it only makes Glitchen unhappy.  Let everyone give something to making new streets, regardless of their level or skill.

    I rapidly decided the name of these should be strEAT projects.  Sorry guys...try again ok?
    Posted 13 months ago by ☣ elf ☣ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • While they are not sucking all the fun out of the game for me, I do agree with the basic sentiment of the OP. Before the reset, street projects were one of my favorite parts of the game. Now, they are just miserable and therefore I no longer have that fun aspect to enjoy. It is no fun to get repeatedly kicked out of the game. There has to be a way to bring back the fun and allow everyone to enjoy them.
    Posted 13 months ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The hoarders are not the problem, the lag is a technical issue, and the lack of projects in the last 2 months made everybody too eager to participate. Blame TS, don't blame the players.
    Posted 13 months ago by Natalia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I didn't even consider going anywhere near the street projects. I used to enjoy them but I can imagine how they would be now, having had none for weeks and the number of players in game.

    Sorry TS for once you have really disappointed me, please STOP throwing stuff at us to try and distract from the 'back to beta'!
    Posted 13 months ago by Teena Subscriber! | Permalink
  • looked forward to this, but having a lot of projects at the same time to make it hard to decide where to go as you'll miss (as it was tonight) 3/4 of the options as well as a few very well stocked people just blasting through the phases doesn't feel like what was intended...

    Not sure why 2 zones both had to be built/expanded at the same time or why donations per person couldn't be limited to give others a chance...
    Posted 13 months ago by Mschif Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I was looking forward to a street project since I had missed the earlier ones and had been waiting for them to start up again.   Honestly, it was fun but the crows was WAY too much.  I might join in one or two if they are happening in off times but I'm not going anywhere near one at a peak time.  No way!
    Posted 13 months ago by Rusty McDusty Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Blame TS, don't blame the players.

    I'm not blaming the players: I'm blaming the gameplay dynamic, which is broken for projects. The players are being totally rational, but I don't think dumping the contents of your inventory or grinding out actions makes for good collaborative gameplay, which is what projects are presumably meant to be.

    Of all the projects using the current model, I think the most fun were the ones that built out the ancestral lands: they had relatively low-end requirements, your contribution was constrained by the time limit, and the collaboration was spontaneous and low-pressure.
    Posted 13 months ago by Holgate Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have some fun: join us in the scavenger hunt! There are some cool prizes :)

    http://www.glitch.com/forum/general/13074/
    Posted 13 months ago by MaraSummers Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I tried to participate in a street project, but I literally couldn't move.  I couldn't drag items to the proper box, couldn't pick them up when I inadvertently dropped the, and couldn't even chat.

    Sorry, guys.  I'll be mining and trolling for cubimals tonight.  :P
    Posted 13 months ago by Little Violet Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Right now there are 8 projects going. Looks like TS is addressing this the way they can at the moment.

    I certainly hope they release the new-style street projects really soon.
    Posted 13 months ago by Ximenez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • please don't jump. :))
    Posted 13 months ago by Mablem Tiipot Subscriber! | Permalink
  • How about this idea:

    A street project would nee,say X number of people participating (40? 60?, must be something that includes enough people during peak times but is not impossible to reach during low times), and at each phase ALL of those people have to put 1 item (or 2 or 3) in.

    That way, you are back to the cooperative feeling. Everybody would try to help the others to create the stuff they need.

    Of course, you take away the competitive edge, which is just what some people might want.
    Posted 13 months ago by Louis Louisson Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Street projects ARE being redesigned.  Many many people said very often, "We don't care, we want new zones, give us some to do now while you're redesigning them!"  If you don't like them, be patient.  You'll have different ones to do soon enough.
    Posted 13 months ago by Magic Monkey Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There were over 100 people at the street project I attempted to contribute to early this morning, during a time when there are usually not very many people logged in. It was extremely laggy, my flash crashed in the middle of it, and the requirements filled up within minutes, so I didn't get to help out much. My game also crashed when I tried to contribute to a project the previous night with even fewer people there. After both these experiences, I decided street projects aren't worth it right now and resumed focusing on other things. Too bad--street projects were my favorite thing to do back in the day when 30 people at a project was alot. On the plus side: awesome stew is in more demand in the auctions right now, which I'm all about making.
    Posted 13 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I contributed to three street projects today, and though I could only do a little, it was a lot of fun! Everyone there helped each other with ingredients, rk, radiating and the like. I'm sorry other people have been having bad experiences!
    Posted 13 months ago by Pyrrhocorax Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1000 Magic Monkey- you took the words right out of my.... fingertips?  I couldn't have said it any better myself!  Patience, Glitches!
    Posted 13 months ago by Sloppy Ketchup Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Personally, I'm having a lot of fun working on the street projects, and can contribute a lot even though I'm not a hoarder. The lag isn't even bad now there's several projects happening at once.
    Posted 13 months ago by Effigy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I probably should not be posting right now, as I am having a migraine and am not is my normal good spirits, but...

    There does seem to be a sense of frenticism and rush I just do not enjoy in this street project effort. Jeez, how fast do you have to play anyway? Everyone found their last DNA, skilled up the three new skills, made 2000 hooches and the same for tincture, and received all the trophies for the street projects released YESTERDAY yet? Well if you haven't yain'yt no gAmEr. Oh, did I forget to include the mad dash for all the cubimals? No wait, that was yesterday....

    Don't forget kids...rush!!!!! there is no tomorrow after all.

    So when do we start pushing fellow players to "level up dude, you gotza have that something level N gives, but like now dude." Tomorrow or the next day?

    And here I thought Glitch would be different. I really don't get the sense of immediacy and urgency that's being brought into the game.
    Posted 13 months ago by Woochi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Meh, they were trophy pieces.  Even as much as I played and as well as I did, I'm pretty sure I didn't get a whole trophy.  I need get back on and look at some point, but I'm pretty sure I didn't.  But yeah, it was sort of frantic, but I ended up kinda liking the rush until I was finally burned out.  :P
    Posted 13 months ago by Serra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't think the street projects were put out as a distraction from the back-to-beta announcement. Rather, I think TS made the back-to-beta decision and announcement when they did because they have already figured out that certain aspects of the game, such as street projects, do not scale well or are not producing sustainable gameplay. 

    Going back to beta was intended to convey to current players that TS knows there are rough spots, that changes need to be made to address those, and that those changes will then need to be shaken down and tested.

    In the meantime, I can work around the street projects and other rough spots and still enjoy the game. Or, if I'm inclined, I can go to the rough spots with the understanding that they will be rough. So, yeah, the street projects I participated in yesterday were not what I'd hoped for. However, they have not sucked the fun out of the game for me. 
    Posted 13 months ago by Splendora Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have to agree, the lag is a technical issue that it's really Glitch's fault.  One of my computers is handling it really well- the one I got just for gaming, of course.  I saved up for a couple of years and then get a custom system from Digital Storm.  It's been working really well.  If anyone is saving for a new computer, I say sign up for DS newsletter and check out next year's black friday specials.

    PS: If street projects aren't fun for you anymore... just don't do them.  There is more to Glitch than the street projects, eh?
    Posted 13 months ago by Daftiful Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I had some projects with smaller groups of people today, and it makes a lot of a difference. More fun, less lag, lasts longer than three minutes and I'm able to actually contribute stuff...
    Posted 13 months ago by Alyx Sands Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You know what would be great? If when they revamped the system, they changed it so that everyone got a trophy piece once they reached a certain percentage, such as for every 3%. That way, if a person contributed 0.10% for one phase and 2.9% for another phase, they would get a trophy piece. That way, the more casual players won't feel so disadvantaged because they don't hoard.

    As it stands right now, those that are working for the trophies are using a very simple strategy. Besides praying that other players will get fed up with the lag and poor odds, they decide before they contribute anything if they have a chance of being in the top 5. If they don't, they'll hold onto their hoard and let everyone else take care of the labor until they find a phase more in their favor.

    The rewards need to be re-thinked in a way that fosters more camaraderie than competition.
    Posted 13 months ago by Vera Mars Subscriber! | Permalink
  • As one of the newer players who didn't get a chance to do projects in beta, I apologize for all of us "post-launch" players getting in the way of the enjoyment of the "more important" players.
    Posted 13 months ago by Janitch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Janitch, no one is more important than anyone else.

    @Vera there's another thread on that subject suggesting a cap for contribution to even the playing field a bit (and in my opinion might slow it down just a tad)... Might want to give it a look and contribute your own thoughts? http://www.glitch.com/forum/ideas/13095/#reply-133512 :)
    Posted 13 months ago by Woochi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Everyone is all excited because they started up again. I haven't been there yet, and that's on purpose because I knew it would be a mad house. Just wait a while and go do something else, and get into it a little later once the excitement dies down a bit.

    I'm actually enjoying it because I can be in Alpine Vista or go mine and just see a handful of people instead of a crowded street. :) It is a little eerie in some places though. Like a ghost town!
    Posted 13 months ago by anonymoose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Janitch: I'm not sure where you're drawing your dichotomy from, but it's not this thread. This isn't about newbies vs. oldbies, other than that beta testers have some experience of projects to draw upon: it's about scaling projects so that they accommodate the broadened user base. You can scale hardware in a somewhat linear way, but you can't scale gameplay in the same fashion.
    Posted 13 months ago by Holgate Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I've yet to contribute to a street, I have yet to meet a juju, or fight a rook, most of the time I meet very few people and those I do meet are either very nice or very in a hurry
    Posted 13 months ago by dr kelly Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Rainbow Juice + Street Project = Hilarity!!!
    Posted 13 months ago by WalruZ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I would love to try for the trophies, and the one street project I participated in that had a reasonable number of people was fun. Most have 70-100+ people and I can barely do anything. by the time what is needed loads its all up. I wonder if there is a better way to do street projects where it's not only the person with the best connection / computer who gets there first....
    Posted 13 months ago by Horakely Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I can sum up street projects in a single word - chaos!
    I think those will be the badges/trophies I never get.

    Too many people on one street and my game crashes. By the time you manage to reload it, the phase is over.
    Posted 13 months ago by Liz Erd Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Since the street projects have started, the rest of the game is like a ghost town. I had all the sparkly I could take in Limenske last night. Kinda refreshing. 

    The projects are a joke. you are lucky if you can donate any actual items in time, and the labor portion goes so quick that it isin't worth the wear on your tools. 

    I wonder what the dynamic would be on the projects that instead of asking for finite amounts of items, you would leave it open ended for a limited time? Ask for an item, and make a donation time of 10 min. See how many of that item the community can muster in that time. Trophies for the top donors. then same for the labor. Maybe create features for that area if the community comes up with certian benchmarks. like "donate 100000 sammiches" all rocks in this area are sparkly."

    2 cents 
    Posted 13 months ago by Fatty McFatcheeks Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I had been anticipating the return of street projects for weeks. And I am disappointed for all the reasons listed already. Guess I will focus on the new skills for a while in my brand-new-bog-house. 
    Posted 13 months ago by La_La Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Get 200 hundred garlic and eat it at a street project and watch sparks fly.
    Posted 13 months ago by koolaroo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @WalruZ, please be sure to make a video when you try it!
    Posted 13 months ago by Eleanor Rigby Subscriber! | Permalink
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