[Denied]Encountering Shinys: Less Luck based and More Effort Based

[flavajabari]

i can support this, i cant feel anything but wronged when i play this game for 1500 hours and get zero shinies, and a random newbie (no offense) gets a shiny on his/her playthrough.

i know this is pokemon & rng is god but pls,

just pls.

 

it would give the term shiny hunting some meaning, instead of running in the same patch of grass for 2 months.

[Barrage]

Oh my goodness sweetie, this is such an amazing suggestion! I feel like in any MMORPG, one should be able to work towards whatever goal they would like to achieve. It is discouraging that shiny hunting is currently not very viable. It would be good if shinies were a treat and surprise, as is canon in the games, but I think players should also feel like they can actively do something to increase their odds to find that special shiny. That isn't to say that the odds would be much greater than they currently are, but at least one would have the feeling of contributing to their chances actively.

[Kyu]

No, "make the chances to encounter a shiny increase depending on how much time I play" is not a good idea. It's actually one of the worst ways I can think of to make more shiny pokémon available, up there with "shiny paint in the donation shop" and "increase shiny rate globally".

 

The proposal would:

• Increase monotony of existing gameplay instead of creating anything new (This is bad.)
• Doesn't create a goal other than "I need to grind 500 caterpies in order to get a shiny one" (This is bad gameplay.)

A better approach would be to send the player on a quest in order to give them a guaranteed rare of their choice. Even then, needs to be luck-based in some aspects and needs to involve all gameplay elements (pve, pvp, crafting, whatever else).

[Emlee]

No, "make the chances to encounter a shiny increase depending on how much time I play" is not a good idea. It's actually one of the worst ways I can think of to make more shiny pokémon available, up there with "shiny paint in the donation shop" and "increase shiny rate globally".

The proposal would:

• Increase monotony of existing gameplay instead of creating anything new (This is bad.)
• Doesn't create a goal other than "I need to grind 500 caterpies in order to get a shiny one" (This is bad gameplay.)

A better approach would be to send the player on a quest in order to give them a guaranteed rare of their choice. Even then, needs to be luck-based in some aspects and needs to involve all gameplay elements (pve, pvp, crafting, whatever else).

Why would them being guaranteed a Rare be better than this? This suggestion is still almost entirely luck based, effort just has a small factor in it now. IMO being guaranteed a rare sounds like a bad idea and that would affect the market.

Did you read the entire thing and understand you could actually keep the same shiny input in this game or even make it more difficult? It's also not based on play time, it's based on effort.

The only thing I can think of is that you're thinking of botters but you have those just the same for the current shiny mechanics.

As for the "kill 500 caterpies" have you not examined your payday mechanics? This proposal considers multitasking and is mostly an extra benefit to being in an area where you're already payday farming, etc.

EDIT: I should say if the game switches to quests as opposed to the payday grind, and the hunting grind then this should change along with it, but this suggestion takes into consideration all of your current mechanics. If you're switching from these, then yes I can see quests being better (if they're still by chance and not guaranteed) but are you going to do quests for payday/getting money as well? Would you do quests for finding comp Pokemon? I am only going off of your current game mechanics, not going out on a limb to a place where your game is no where near at this point. Also your spitefulness isn't appreciated by me.

 

EDIT2: This also ties in with your current breeding mechanics (which I forgot about), they require activity and often times that is fainting Pokemon as well. So . . . Are you revamping the entirety of breeding, farming money,  and farming comps ?? 

[TheRealPhatiman]

+ 1,yes this game is luck based but when you play for 1300+ hours in my case,buy donator status 3 months in a row and repetitively hunt every day in the same spot for hours on end only to have nothing to show for it?it does get discouraging,especially when you've put so much time and effort into it.i feel that effort and dedication should be rewarded.simple as that. 

[HertzAhoi]

+1

tfw been fishing karp since july

[Infernario]

No, it will totally mess up the prices on shinys.

It should be all about luck instead of gameplay in my opinion.

2 OT shinys

Machop

Caterpie

I think you should just buy Donator Status if you are having trouble and it would help out PokeMMO

[Emlee]

No, it will totally mess up the prices on shinys.

It should be all about luck instead of gameplay in my opinion.

2 OT shinys

Machop

Caterpie

I think you should just buy Donator Status if you are having trouble and it would help out PokeMMO

If you read the entire OP and understand it then you would realize it doesn't have to make it easier, or harder to obtain a shiny. Also the fact that you think donator status will help you get a shiny shows how little you know about this game (no offence, I just can't be too bothered with people who can't read. Also you have some good luck.) 

[Barrage]

No, "make the chances to encounter a shiny increase depending on how much time I play" is not a good idea. It's actually one of the worst ways I can think of to make more shiny pokémon available, up there with "shiny paint in the donation shop" and "increase shiny rate globally".

 

The proposal would:

• Increase monotony of existing gameplay instead of creating anything new (This is bad.)
• Doesn't create a goal other than "I need to grind 500 caterpies in order to get a shiny one" (This is bad gameplay.)

A better approach would be to send the player on a quest in order to give them a guaranteed rare of their choice. Even then, needs to be luck-based in some aspects and needs to involve all gameplay elements (pve, pvp, crafting, whatever else).

Did you even read the post? If you did, you would know that this suggestion isn't aimed to increase the shiny encounter rate overall, but provide a system where players are rewarded for long term play as opposed to people finding them randomly at any given point, including very early on. Drawing a parallel to other games, it is like finding a rare and valuable item early in the player's progression. While shinies are vanity, they still hold late-game value, and as such, I don't think they should be arbitrarily stumbled upon. There should be some bias towards long-term players.

 

I agree that if the game shifts towards questing, perhaps basing the main method of shiny acquisition around those mechanics may be more coherent and engaging. However, this suggestion was only made with the current game's mechanics in mind, as the original poster stated.

[flavajabari]

i think Emlee countered the monotone, and 'i need to grind 500 caterpies' argument pretty well by this simple line:

"have you not examined your payday mechanics?"

 

anyways this thread is about shinies, and being guaranteed a rare of their choice seems waaaaay generous, for any quest.

[edIRL]

I know this kind of seems insane but it would stop shiny numbers going too high. What if you could release a shiny in order to increase chances of a shiny encounter.For example. I release a shiny fearow and a timer starts for lets say 48hs. For that time chance of shiny has increased drastically.Also since fearow is considered the lowest tier of shiny it might seem unfair to use this method to get a rarer shiny. Therefor I propose that shinies are divided into tiers and u can only encounter a shiny plus or minus one tier from the released shiny. What do you think?

 

Also your suggestion is a gr8 idea.

[fredrichnietze]

I know this kind of seems insane but it would stop shiny numbers going too high. What if you could release a shiny in order to increase chances of a shiny encounter.For example. I release a shiny fearow and a timer starts for lets say 48hs. For that time chance of shiny has increased drastically.Also since fearow is considered the lowest tier of shiny it might seem unfair to use this method to get a rarer shiny. Therefor I propose that shinies are divided into tiers and u can only encounter a shiny plus or minus one tier from the released shiny. What do you think?

 

Also your suggestion is a gr8 idea.

this belongs in its own thread

[Fluffyknowsyou]

Inb4devslowerthechanceby0.001pertendaysofsearching

 

I don't particualarly care about shinies,although getting a dratini is a dream of mine. This could still keep shiney chanseys rare,but make the hunt for a shiny ratata not stupidly mind numbing.Although this suggestion is made with the mindset that shineys are important. I'd rather see time and energy put into making something else so I can play the game for something other than shineys or comps.

[Caracal]

All I needed to do was read the title of this to know I would like it, great idea Emlee :) 

[Ryuken777]

This must happen 

O_O

It would be so good 

since so many people spend 100s of hours looking and still find no shinies

yet there are those people who by chance find a shiny after only playing for like 50 hours

...

Like I found my first shiny (fearow) after playing for about 120 hours when during that time i was mostly using repels and this was the 1 time i didn't have any repels but since then I've been actively breeding/searching for shinies and now I'm at 416 hours and not 1 shiny, I've even had donator status for the past 2 months and still have 21 days in my current donator status

o_o

This suggestion would help quite a bit for people who put effort into looking for shinies, also most MMOs are effort based not luck based so it would make sense

 

This topic not only stems from being one of many individuals who has never encountered a shiny (with a considerable amount of time in game spent encountering Pokemon) in game, but also from being someone who believes the mechanics in game should favour effort a bit more than favouring luck. I will state beforehand that I by no means think that it should be extremely easy to encounter a shiny but I do think after being active in game for over 1600 hours I wouldn't mind finding one and think other people with these (non afk) hours should be able to have found one just the same. I am just going present a couple concepts, but I am not providing the full details as I don't feel I in the position to suggest numbers/percents etc.

 

__________

 

I believe that the shiny rate should increase slightly (insert percent) under the following conditions:

• Encountering Pokemon in a map
• Hatching a Pokemon (Only the limitations below that state they apply to hatching are relevant to this condition) Note: This suggestion can easily be implemented without the hatching condition if it's too difficult to work out

 

I believe that the shiny rates increased by the above conditions should be limited to:

• The map you were hunting in (multiple maps can be increased during the same login but not at the same time i.e. you must hunt in a specific place to increase the chance there)
• The increased chance should reset after your character logs out or you disconnect
• The increased chance should reset after being AFK for a specific amount of time (Insert amount of time in minutes, suggesting 3-5 minutes +)
• The rate will not increase if your character is inactive
• The rate can only increase by encountering a wild Pokemon, not NPCs or PVP battles 
• The rate will only increase species specifically (i.e. rare Pokemon will theoretically be encountered less so their increased shiny chance will go up more slowly)
• The rate will be capped (insert percentage/fraction)
• The rate will reset when a shiny Pokemon has been encountered.
• Hatching a Pokemon will increase the shiny chance species specifically taking into consideration the Breeding Tiers (which increase the hatch time as is) and can be further buffed after considering the rarity of the Pokemon and value of its shiny version

 

The rate of increase should be adjusted to mimic the area's Pokemon encounter rate so that no area has a higher or lower chance of increase in comparison to one another, for example: 

• Pokemon encountered while surfing should increase the rate more slowly (to make up for the high encounter rate in the ocean)
• Pokemon encountered while fishing should increase the rate more rapidly (to make up for the low encounter rate while fishing)
• (Insert others areas)

--> An equation (inverse proportion most likely) related to the average Pokemon encounter rate over time in the area could be formulated in order to keep these adjustments consistent. 

 

Why this could work in PokeMMO:

 

This would make shiny hunting a legitimate task that can be done alongside other grinds in game (such as Ev training, payday/money grinding, searching for competitive Pokemon, etc) by rewarding those who are continually hunting in game. This would also mean more people find their shinys after they have completed the storyline as people are typically hunting/grinding in new areas as they reach them, theoretically more people would find shinys who are attempting to find them as opposed to individuals randomly finding them. I believe in an MMO environment there should be luck factors when it comes to "loot" but I also you should be able to "earn" your chances. If the above suggestion is implemented in a specific way it could make it more likely for people who spend more time hunting to find a shiny, than for those who find one due to complete random chance, I believe this would be a positive addition to the game. This also gives people incentives to chase swarms, as these swarms often have rare Pokemon at a higher encounter rate. 

 

I will also state that the base shiny encounter rate could be adjusted in order to suite this suggestion according to the devs/upper staff. 

 

Possible Issues: 

• If this information can be stored client side that would most likely be best, I am unsure if this would need to be server side or not. If server side then it may be an issue. 
• It may be difficult to mathematically balance everything (especially the hatching condition) 

TL;DR: Make the shiny encounter rate less luck based and a bit more effort based - does not mean it's a whole lot easier to get a shiny, just easier to those who put in the effort (conversely more difficult for those who do not put in the effort)

 

Feel free to provide further conditions/limitations/etc for me to add to the OP, I will be happy to review them (including possible issues). Thanks for any feedback you provide. 

[fite]

that boat has already sailed 

long sailed

 

 

No, "make the chances to encounter a shiny increase depending on how much time I play" is not a good idea. It's actually one of the worst ways I can think of to make more shiny pokémon available, up there with "shiny paint in the donation shop" and "increase shiny rate globally".

 

The proposal would:

• Increase monotony of existing gameplay instead of creating anything new (This is bad.)
• Doesn't create a goal other than "I need to grind 500 caterpies in order to get a shiny one" (This is bad gameplay.)

A better approach would be to send the player on a quest in order to give them a guaranteed rare of their choice. Even then, needs to be luck-based in some aspects and needs to involve all gameplay elements (pve, pvp, crafting, whatever else).

 

THIS IS WHY YOUR THE MUDAFUDAN MAN WITH THE PLAN WHO RUNS SHIT

YOU THINK

I LIKE THAT!

[Dannnno]

No, "make the chances to encounter a shiny increase depending on how much time I play" is not a good idea. It's actually one of the worst ways I can think of to make more shiny pokémon available, up there with "shiny paint in the donation shop" and "increase shiny rate globally".

 

The proposal would:

• Increase monotony of existing gameplay instead of creating anything new (This is bad.)
• Doesn't create a goal other than "I need to grind 500 caterpies in order to get a shiny one" (This is bad gameplay.)

A better approach would be to send the player on a quest in order to give them a guaranteed rare of their choice. Even then, needs to be luck-based in some aspects and needs to involve all gameplay elements (pve, pvp, crafting, whatever else).

 

1. Aren't MMOs generally supposed to reward those who put more time into a game?

2. Since this would be a largely passive buff couldn't it be scaled such that it wasn't game breaking and would largely apply to people who are already doing other things?

3. If its number of encounters based, then there could be a time limit. Like from the first XXX you encounter you have 1 hour to encounter as many of those as possible, and the more you encounter the higher the odds are increased.  To reduce its abusability there could be an NPC who tells you they hear XXX pokemon has been sighted in rare shades recently, triggering the event that would last for 1 hour or whatever.  This NPC would operate similarly to the TVs and swarms.  (This kind of mimics the point you finished on, but less convoluted).

4. Isn't the inherent nature of shinies (1/8192) itself bad gameplay? Specifically, the notion that all you have to do to get a shiny is grind for a long time and eventually you'll get one isn't really that different from what Emlee is suggesting, except she's saying take 'a long time' and make it 'a slightly less long time'

[Vee760]

This is an amazing post, Emlee. You are a great thinker. People who dedicate time to this game should have a fair chance of getting at least one OT shiny.

 

Below is my opinion on the shiny market:

The shiny market is by far one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen, and I think people take it way too serious. There is no way shinies should be worth as high in value as they are. I would never trade something away that could benefit my reason for playing the game further, such as multiple competitive pokemon, eggs or money. People on this game leave me baffled.

 

Now I'm going to go make a sandwich.

[Infernario]

I get it, you made this topic because you are mad at all shiny owners because you yourself have not even catched a single one.
Even if they said yes, this would turn around all the marked thanks to you. So how about you build your way up? Thanks, and have a nice day.

[Umbral]

No, "make the chances to encounter a shiny increase depending on how much time I play" is not a good idea. It's actually one of the worst ways I can think of to make more shiny pokémon available, up there with "shiny paint in the donation shop" and "increase shiny rate globally".

 

The proposal would:

• Increase monotony of existing gameplay instead of creating anything new (This is bad.)
• Doesn't create a goal other than "I need to grind 500 caterpies in order to get a shiny one" (This is bad gameplay.)

A better approach would be to send the player on a quest in order to give them a guaranteed rare of their choice. Even then, needs to be luck-based in some aspects and needs to involve all gameplay elements (pve, pvp, crafting, whatever else).

This response seems like a knee-jerk reaction due to not fully reading the post.. I would hope that the devs were less petty than that, even if there is bad blood between them and an ex-staff member for some reason, but it seems that that is not so. Especially given that Emlee is still around herself and attempting to contribute positively to the game.

Personally, I support this suggestion; in my humble opinion it is well thought out and presented.

[NaitDawg]

But how will i get rich by scamming noobs?

[Dannnno]

I get it, you made this topic because you are mad at all shiny owners because you yourself have not even catched a single one.
Even if they said yes, this would turn around all the marked thanks to you. So how about you build your way up? Thanks, and have a nice day.

 

and you made this post because you are mad at people who might start getting more shinies.

 

Furthermore, the shiny market (well all of PokeMMO's market, but esp. shinies) is literally retarded. Anything that deinflates it is good

 

 

But how will i get rich by scamming noobs?

 

don't worry, they'll be more likely to find shinies so you can scam them more often

[NaitDawg]

 

 

don't worry, they'll be more likely to find shinies so you can scam them more often

 

sick

[Archinix]

sick

>Says the guy who made a guide to avoid scamming

[Dannnno]

>Says the guy who made a guide to avoid scamming

 

obvi a ruse