I just wanted to put this out there, as there are a few things that have been on my mind lately. I wanted to see if other players shared similar feelings, and hear feedback from you all (staff included). Since I am not part of any myVMK discords, I'm not sure if these have been brought up or addressed. Let me know your thoughts. Please do not turn this into a complaint thread. If you'd like to comment, please include something you currently like about the game.
Here are some positive changes I've noticed recently:
Here are some not-so-positive things I've noticed recently:
Thanks for reading. I appreciate any thoughtful comments from the community.
Here are some positive changes I've noticed recently:
Compliments:
1) I'm really impressed by the quality of the items that have been released. The clothing from the Marvel crates were exquisitely drawn. The recent pins are especially cute, and I can't wait to trade for the orange bird pins this month.
2) There are a variety of ways to engage with the community. The water ride competition and the summer art projects are creative ways for people to interact both in and outside of the game.
3) The ride-a-thons are cute, chill ways for players to be rewarded in-game. I like that players are able to "buy" items that are rare, but it takes a fair amount of effort to obtain them.
4) The quests are fun! Could always use more, but happy they're available every once in a while. The prizes for them are always great. The toucan pet from today is so precious.
1) I'm really impressed by the quality of the items that have been released. The clothing from the Marvel crates were exquisitely drawn. The recent pins are especially cute, and I can't wait to trade for the orange bird pins this month.
2) There are a variety of ways to engage with the community. The water ride competition and the summer art projects are creative ways for people to interact both in and outside of the game.
3) The ride-a-thons are cute, chill ways for players to be rewarded in-game. I like that players are able to "buy" items that are rare, but it takes a fair amount of effort to obtain them.
4) The quests are fun! Could always use more, but happy they're available every once in a while. The prizes for them are always great. The toucan pet from today is so precious.
Here are some not-so-positive things I've noticed recently:
Criticisms/Suggestions:
1) Lack of host events at diverse times. In the past two weeks alone, not including the ride-a-thons, there were six events. A majority of these took place on weekdays between 9am and 3:30pm. This means that people who work a normal, full-time schedule (8am-5pm) will be unable to participate for the host prize. Host events are personally my favorite way to interact with players and staff, and I'd really appreciate it if there were more of them in the evenings (7pm - 2am EST). It's great that ride-a-thons are available during that time frame, but they are mostly an AFK kind of event and you can't win weekly host prizes from them. Maybe that's something that could be added to the ride-a-thon shop for people who missed a previous week's prize!
2) Poor timing of releases.
a) I really encourage staff to time releases more carefully. There have been several months in a row where previous months' themes extend into the next. It's much more fun when all the players gather the night before the 1st of a month in anticipation of the next theme. Now it's very scattered and unclear when themes change. It feels like the game is running most smoothly when releases and newsletters are on time.
b) In addition, crates should not be released until all items are complete and added. I witnessed a lot of confusion and frustration when ultra rares were added to the Marvel crates last minute. I'm sure players would rather wait three days knowing that all the prizes are in a crate before purchasing one.
c) The Easter egg fight should have begun at the beginning of April and ended at the end of April. The prizes for teams weren't released until the 16th of May, almost four weeks after Easter. Maybe it was just me, but it felt very late considering Marvel month was already at full-speed.
3) Fireworks still doesn't have keys. @HOST_Nala announced on Twitter on 4/29 that keys would be added to Fireworks on 4/30. They still haven't been added as of 6/16, and there was no announcement afterwards saying they'd be delayed or not added at all. This is my favorite mini-game at the moment and I sincerely hope they can be added soon.
4) Lack of important bug fixes. While it was amazing to have a month dedicated to transparency and fixing bugs, there are still several that haven't been addressed. HM still has an unusable exit button and displays incorrect scores. Mini-games do not have instructions, which would be important for any new player who doesn't know controls. There have been players who haven't been able to put pins in the last spot on their lanyards in months. Continuing to be transparent is a great way to reduce frustration from players, and should be something included on the newsletter so we know how the game is improving.
5) Lack of interaction with staff in general. During the pride parade, I noticed there were two new staff (Indy and Dipper) who were never introduced. An announcement on twitter would've been a great way to let players know they had joined the team, and give players an opportunity to welcome them. In general, I wish there were more events like the DJ night (which I unfortunately missed) or Battle the Staff, which was a really fun way to interact with everyone and make new friends. Several staff have been added in the past few months, and more chill, non-prize events should be held to celebrate their work.
6) Double credit days should be added to the calendar, not just posted on a forums' thread. Not everyone uses forums - spread the love to all platforms!
1) Lack of host events at diverse times. In the past two weeks alone, not including the ride-a-thons, there were six events. A majority of these took place on weekdays between 9am and 3:30pm. This means that people who work a normal, full-time schedule (8am-5pm) will be unable to participate for the host prize. Host events are personally my favorite way to interact with players and staff, and I'd really appreciate it if there were more of them in the evenings (7pm - 2am EST). It's great that ride-a-thons are available during that time frame, but they are mostly an AFK kind of event and you can't win weekly host prizes from them. Maybe that's something that could be added to the ride-a-thon shop for people who missed a previous week's prize!
2) Poor timing of releases.
a) I really encourage staff to time releases more carefully. There have been several months in a row where previous months' themes extend into the next. It's much more fun when all the players gather the night before the 1st of a month in anticipation of the next theme. Now it's very scattered and unclear when themes change. It feels like the game is running most smoothly when releases and newsletters are on time.
b) In addition, crates should not be released until all items are complete and added. I witnessed a lot of confusion and frustration when ultra rares were added to the Marvel crates last minute. I'm sure players would rather wait three days knowing that all the prizes are in a crate before purchasing one.
c) The Easter egg fight should have begun at the beginning of April and ended at the end of April. The prizes for teams weren't released until the 16th of May, almost four weeks after Easter. Maybe it was just me, but it felt very late considering Marvel month was already at full-speed.
3) Fireworks still doesn't have keys. @HOST_Nala announced on Twitter on 4/29 that keys would be added to Fireworks on 4/30. They still haven't been added as of 6/16, and there was no announcement afterwards saying they'd be delayed or not added at all. This is my favorite mini-game at the moment and I sincerely hope they can be added soon.
4) Lack of important bug fixes. While it was amazing to have a month dedicated to transparency and fixing bugs, there are still several that haven't been addressed. HM still has an unusable exit button and displays incorrect scores. Mini-games do not have instructions, which would be important for any new player who doesn't know controls. There have been players who haven't been able to put pins in the last spot on their lanyards in months. Continuing to be transparent is a great way to reduce frustration from players, and should be something included on the newsletter so we know how the game is improving.
5) Lack of interaction with staff in general. During the pride parade, I noticed there were two new staff (Indy and Dipper) who were never introduced. An announcement on twitter would've been a great way to let players know they had joined the team, and give players an opportunity to welcome them. In general, I wish there were more events like the DJ night (which I unfortunately missed) or Battle the Staff, which was a really fun way to interact with everyone and make new friends. Several staff have been added in the past few months, and more chill, non-prize events should be held to celebrate their work.
6) Double credit days should be added to the calendar, not just posted on a forums' thread. Not everyone uses forums - spread the love to all platforms!
Thanks for reading. I appreciate any thoughtful comments from the community.
