A proposal to reduce rare item overinflation
Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:42 pm
One of the rough things about neopets is that the truly rare items inflate at a rate that is higher than that of normal neopian items - for example, the Jade Scorchstone. It was 9 million neopoints just two years ago, and now you're lucky if you can find one at less than 30 million.
This inflation carries over to similar items - the lucky robots foot, for example, does the same thing as the jade ss, but it's only one use. When the JSS was 9 mil, the LRF was only 2k. Now it's nearly 6.
The Neopets Team has done good work in the past to reduce the prices of shop-buyable items...one of these has been to increase the number of items stocked in normal shops. This has managed to keep prices of many items down.
However, the highest-rarity items, from 98 to 180, continue to increase in price in a manner not in line with the rest of neopia. The major factor in this, I would presume, is simply the fact that high-rarity items are purchased by the richest players, who tend to be frozen at a somewhat higher rate than the less-publicly-known players.
I won't get into the reasons for that. One of them, I'm sure, is cheating, although probably not as much as one might think.
Anyway, these accounts are frozen, and the players' neo-belongings are lost to the ages, thus greatly cutting into the number of particular items out there.
So, I propose a solution:
Players whose accounts have been frozen would have those accounts emptied of items after a set period of time. I propose that this time period be 18 months - Neopets has said in the past that accounts inactive for more than 12 months will not be unfrozen, but it's better to build a cushion into this.
Players who were frozen for gaming violations (like the Volcano Run freezings) would not have their accounts emptied, just in case. Players who self-froze would not have their accounts emptied, because they did nothing wrong.
Those items would be randomly redistributed to current neopets players who are not on the frozen list. I suggest a random distribution because that way there can't be any usage of grabber programs, and that way cheating to get cheaters' things wouldn't occur.
Perhaps a neomail, similar to the system used for war prizes. New mail from Peter the Security Chia? What could this be?
And the item would appear in your inventory.
This could certainly be done on a particular day of the month, maybe the 5th. And since it's done by neomail and item transfer, there won't be any complaints that you have to constantly be refreshing pages (like you do with random events).
I think that this would increase the number of semi-active accounts, because people would log in at least once a month to check and see what they got, then they have to click around to sell the items or put them on their pets, neohomes, SDBs, whatever - thus increasing pageviews from users who would normally not stop by.
And if it's done on a random date, then those users would have to view the pages more often, to see if they got those things.
I think this could be done more easily than one might think. Just come up with a script to note when an account was frozen (easy enough, since they obviously keep this record anyway) and transfer items from a select group into a "pool" database. Write another script to give stuff away from this database at any staff member's behest (run the script, walk away, have a Pepsi or whatever), or on a specific day, just like half-price day.
If TNT adopts this system or something like it, then normal every day users could randomly get all sorts of ancient artifacts and what nots, which would benefit everyone except those who buy and sell super-expensive items.
Now, in order to protect THEIR interests, there's another simple remedy - give them a warning. Post in the news that items from frozen accounts will be randomly redistributed, starting, say, two months from whenever. That way items can be kept or given away or sold or whatever, and while there WILL be a downward pressure on the market, it won't be like these users didn't have fair warning and didn't have any way to go about finding a new niche before their economic worlds come crumbling down.
Thoughts/refinements?
EDIT: A refinement suggested by Kurisutaru: Rather than have the item sent directly to a user, then a user who receives a neomail could be given a link to click to, at which point they will receive that item. If the item goes unclaimed for a set time frame (Kurisutaru suggests one month), then that item would be placed back in the distribution pool.
This inflation carries over to similar items - the lucky robots foot, for example, does the same thing as the jade ss, but it's only one use. When the JSS was 9 mil, the LRF was only 2k. Now it's nearly 6.
The Neopets Team has done good work in the past to reduce the prices of shop-buyable items...one of these has been to increase the number of items stocked in normal shops. This has managed to keep prices of many items down.
However, the highest-rarity items, from 98 to 180, continue to increase in price in a manner not in line with the rest of neopia. The major factor in this, I would presume, is simply the fact that high-rarity items are purchased by the richest players, who tend to be frozen at a somewhat higher rate than the less-publicly-known players.
I won't get into the reasons for that. One of them, I'm sure, is cheating, although probably not as much as one might think.
Anyway, these accounts are frozen, and the players' neo-belongings are lost to the ages, thus greatly cutting into the number of particular items out there.
So, I propose a solution:
Players whose accounts have been frozen would have those accounts emptied of items after a set period of time. I propose that this time period be 18 months - Neopets has said in the past that accounts inactive for more than 12 months will not be unfrozen, but it's better to build a cushion into this.
Players who were frozen for gaming violations (like the Volcano Run freezings) would not have their accounts emptied, just in case. Players who self-froze would not have their accounts emptied, because they did nothing wrong.
Those items would be randomly redistributed to current neopets players who are not on the frozen list. I suggest a random distribution because that way there can't be any usage of grabber programs, and that way cheating to get cheaters' things wouldn't occur.
Perhaps a neomail, similar to the system used for war prizes. New mail from Peter the Security Chia? What could this be?
Peter the Security Chia wrote:Thanks for playing by the rules! Good Neopian citizens like you make my job easier.
At any rate, I was just cleaning out my confiscated property bin...As a special thanks for playing by the rules, here's an item from somebody who tried to cheat other users!
And the item would appear in your inventory.
This could certainly be done on a particular day of the month, maybe the 5th. And since it's done by neomail and item transfer, there won't be any complaints that you have to constantly be refreshing pages (like you do with random events).
I think that this would increase the number of semi-active accounts, because people would log in at least once a month to check and see what they got, then they have to click around to sell the items or put them on their pets, neohomes, SDBs, whatever - thus increasing pageviews from users who would normally not stop by.
And if it's done on a random date, then those users would have to view the pages more often, to see if they got those things.
I think this could be done more easily than one might think. Just come up with a script to note when an account was frozen (easy enough, since they obviously keep this record anyway) and transfer items from a select group into a "pool" database. Write another script to give stuff away from this database at any staff member's behest (run the script, walk away, have a Pepsi or whatever), or on a specific day, just like half-price day.
If TNT adopts this system or something like it, then normal every day users could randomly get all sorts of ancient artifacts and what nots, which would benefit everyone except those who buy and sell super-expensive items.
Now, in order to protect THEIR interests, there's another simple remedy - give them a warning. Post in the news that items from frozen accounts will be randomly redistributed, starting, say, two months from whenever. That way items can be kept or given away or sold or whatever, and while there WILL be a downward pressure on the market, it won't be like these users didn't have fair warning and didn't have any way to go about finding a new niche before their economic worlds come crumbling down.
Thoughts/refinements?
EDIT: A refinement suggested by Kurisutaru: Rather than have the item sent directly to a user, then a user who receives a neomail could be given a link to click to, at which point they will receive that item. If the item goes unclaimed for a set time frame (Kurisutaru suggests one month), then that item would be placed back in the distribution pool.
Last edited by shapu on Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:50 pm
Ooh, I like that idea! It will definately help those of us who have no talent as restockers. Plus it will be a nice surprise to log in, have that Neomail, check your items, and find the item you've wanted forever in your inventory!
Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:52 pm
I thought that items in frozen accounts should go on the money tree, but I like your idea better.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:00 pm
the only problem I see with this is what about people who have a not frozen account but haven't logged on in forever?
Sending that person an item wouldn't increase the number in neopia because they'd be stuck in unused accounts. This wouldn't happen in every case but the risk is still great, unless they put some kind of limits (i.e. the person would have had to have been active w/in the past month). But that would be hard.
Sending that person an item wouldn't increase the number in neopia because they'd be stuck in unused accounts. This wouldn't happen in every case but the risk is still great, unless they put some kind of limits (i.e. the person would have had to have been active w/in the past month). But that would be hard.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:01 pm
stampsyne wrote:I thought that items in frozen accounts should go on the money tree, but I like your idea better.
The problem with the money tree is that only those with super fast accounts really get anything. I love Shapu's idea!
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:04 pm
anaslile wrote:the only problem I see with this is what about people who have a not frozen account but haven't logged on in forever?
Sending that person an item wouldn't increase the number in neopia because they'd be stuck in unused accounts. This wouldn't happen in every case but the risk is still great, unless they put some kind of limits (i.e. the person would have had to have been active w/in the past month). But that would be hard.
I think this might actually decrease the number of inactive accounts. JMHO, and it could be because this is my idea and I'm rationalizing, but I know that if I were aware that I could get a Monoceraptor's Claw or heart-shaped bed or whatever, I might come by.
Alternatively, they could be given to accounts that have a last-spotted line of under some arbitrary amount, like 3 months or whatever. I'm just a theorist, not an implementer.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:04 pm
Maybe everyone who wants to participate in this could sign up for it in some way, that way the stuff wouldnt find its way into inactive accounts.
Great idea though!
Great idea though!
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:05 pm
anaslile wrote:the only problem I see with this is what about people who have a not frozen account but haven't logged on in forever?
Sending that person an item wouldn't increase the number in neopia because they'd be stuck in unused accounts. This wouldn't happen in every case but the risk is still great, unless they put some kind of limits (i.e. the person would have had to have been active w/in the past month). But that would be hard.
Maybe a way to solve this would have it made so you have to actually GO to Peter and click a link to "collect" your item. If you don't collect with in a month, then have the offer expire and be offered to someone else?
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:06 pm
Kurisutaru wrote:anaslile wrote:the only problem I see with this is what about people who have a not frozen account but haven't logged on in forever?
Sending that person an item wouldn't increase the number in neopia because they'd be stuck in unused accounts. This wouldn't happen in every case but the risk is still great, unless they put some kind of limits (i.e. the person would have had to have been active w/in the past month). But that would be hard.
Maybe a way to solve this would have it made so you have to actually GO to Peter and click a link to "collect" your item. If you don't collect with in a month, then have the offer expire and be offered to someone else?
That's brilliant. I wish I'd thought of it.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:11 pm
Here here. This is a terrifc idea.
This would bring back and make the game so much more even that it would be unbelivable and would TRUELY put Neopians all on the same field. No two groups or any thing like that.
Very, very well thought out idea. *Mails TNT with link*
This would bring back and make the game so much more even that it would be unbelivable and would TRUELY put Neopians all on the same field. No two groups or any thing like that.
Very, very well thought out idea. *Mails TNT with link*
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:12 pm
Do you know what? I think this is a fab and more importantly, plausible idea. We should all keep suggesting it to TNT and hope they should put it into practise.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:15 pm
right after neoschools i reckon 
seriously though, its a good idea, and seems atleast plausibly easy.
seriously though, its a good idea, and seems atleast plausibly easy.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:18 pm
I think that is a great idea. It's a shame to think that accounts get frozen and tons of rare items just vanish.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:20 pm
Wow. This is a brilliant, well thought out idea. I can seriously see this working.
Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:21 pm
I purpose everyone mail them with a link to this board, and titled exactly what this subject is titled.
Put the link in there, tell them (brifely) that items over R.98 to R.180 are getting out of hand on pricing and a member of PinkPoogleToy Forums has a great idea.
Of course, mail them every way possible
Put the link in there, tell them (brifely) that items over R.98 to R.180 are getting out of hand on pricing and a member of PinkPoogleToy Forums has a great idea.
Of course, mail them every way possible