Well, I'm honestly a general proponent of dropping points systems in general since I think they detract from the enjoyment of a game and just increase people's anxieties around AC time and aren't usually worth the effort you have to dump into them; either as a player OR a mod. I know, personally, I actually tag less when I know I have to actually go through and count everything later because I don't want to have to go through and have to count everything I got into a month. I'd rather just... play. That this system is optional is a great idea!
But this month I decided to dabble in it a little, and I found that, since I have been in AC points system games before it wasn't too bad for me personally, but there was some excess clutter. Horror points just kind of feel unnecessary. I know there's a lot of thought in it and I appreciate you guys for it, and for rewarding people for interacting more with the horror themes, but I would hope that most people apping into a horror game are doing so with the intention of at least occasionally interacting with the horror themes so there's no need to incentivize it so much? The cross-canon points are also theoretically good, but, and especially after the points overhaul, they don't reward enough to be a major factor in whether or not people are going to tag outside their casts. I figure, if people are going to be insular, they're going to be insular, and if not, they're not, and I doubt the points are a huge factor in that, especially at only 2 points a pop.
Now, I know you guys put a lot of work into your points system, and I know you're putting a lot into it in the future, but may I suggest the simplest form of all AC rewards systems, and boiling things down instead of adding more ingredients?
Thread-based rewards.
Rather than spending however long every month tracking down your threads and counting individual comments, why not just go for a system that just rewards based on turning in... X number of threads at least X comments long? I mean, you don't have to really change your base AC from the way it is now, since it's more or less thread-based anyway given there are lower and upper limits to how many threads you turn in to hit the comment count. You can boil it down to, say, three simple rules: 1) Can't be threads used for AC, 2) Can't be threads that have been used for Rewards before, and 3) The earliest comment must not be more than three months old (to keep with your backtagging rules). Then you can put up some basic prices for things... say... having a location unlocked would "cost" you two threads of at least ten comments each. If you want to customize above and beyond that, you can say things like "Must be two threads of 20 network OR 10 log OR a combination comments each." You can reduce comment counts if they include, say, a toplevel or a network or log post as you see fit, but really, just keep it simple. You can even get really wild and say "one of these threads must be cross-canon" or "must be horror-based" for bigger, beefier rewards to ramp up the complexity a little and encourage more interaction in those veins if you think it's necessary.
I mean it seems being overly complex is part of the problem that I'm reading here and that's the simplest solution I can think of while maintaining a rewards system. It's not flawless, and there may be some adjustments to do to customize to taste, but it is easy. Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there.
no subject
But this month I decided to dabble in it a little, and I found that, since I have been in AC points system games before it wasn't too bad for me personally, but there was some excess clutter. Horror points just kind of feel unnecessary. I know there's a lot of thought in it and I appreciate you guys for it, and for rewarding people for interacting more with the horror themes, but I would hope that most people apping into a horror game are doing so with the intention of at least occasionally interacting with the horror themes so there's no need to incentivize it so much? The cross-canon points are also theoretically good, but, and especially after the points overhaul, they don't reward enough to be a major factor in whether or not people are going to tag outside their casts. I figure, if people are going to be insular, they're going to be insular, and if not, they're not, and I doubt the points are a huge factor in that, especially at only 2 points a pop.
Now, I know you guys put a lot of work into your points system, and I know you're putting a lot into it in the future, but may I suggest the simplest form of all AC rewards systems, and boiling things down instead of adding more ingredients?
Thread-based rewards.
Rather than spending however long every month tracking down your threads and counting individual comments, why not just go for a system that just rewards based on turning in... X number of threads at least X comments long? I mean, you don't have to really change your base AC from the way it is now, since it's more or less thread-based anyway given there are lower and upper limits to how many threads you turn in to hit the comment count. You can boil it down to, say, three simple rules: 1) Can't be threads used for AC, 2) Can't be threads that have been used for Rewards before, and 3) The earliest comment must not be more than three months old (to keep with your backtagging rules). Then you can put up some basic prices for things... say... having a location unlocked would "cost" you two threads of at least ten comments each. If you want to customize above and beyond that, you can say things like "Must be two threads of 20 network OR 10 log OR a combination comments each." You can reduce comment counts if they include, say, a toplevel or a network or log post as you see fit, but really, just keep it simple. You can even get really wild and say "one of these threads must be cross-canon" or "must be horror-based" for bigger, beefier rewards to ramp up the complexity a little and encourage more interaction in those veins if you think it's necessary.
I mean it seems being overly complex is part of the problem that I'm reading here and that's the simplest solution I can think of while maintaining a rewards system. It's not flawless, and there may be some adjustments to do to customize to taste, but it is easy. Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there.