Devlin and I decided to put this online now: you can now play magic boxes and the raffle again, as well as buy items in the store and gain minerals from posting in specific forums. Do not tell us that it is bug that for some posts you get 0 minerals. It's on purpose.

This is in an experimental state and we might temporarily remove it later once again to find solutions for problems which might occur.

Post has been edited 5 time(s), last time on Aug 15 2010, 2:19 pm by Devourer.

Very nice! But I'm not quite so sure about the "gain minerals from posting in certain forums" part. Sure, it's an accessible and easy way to do it, but if the number of mineral-awarding forums is too low, people who don't know the list of "certain forums" might just post in every one until he finds the ones that reward minerals and camp there. While this may be a good thing (attract traffic for certain low-activity forums), keep in mind that people will be inclined to make as many posts as possible to gain minerals, and thus it will reduce the average quality of posts.

Wouldn't it be better to just award a flat rate of 1 mineral per post, and include every forum except null? After all, there's nothing particularly "abusable" about minerals. It's not like you can buy "ban member" or "change other member's name" items.

EDIT> 5 minerals for a single post in StarEdit Network? Oh dear.

People spamming posts will simply be suspended and warned before. Do not worry about that.

Yeah, that's the very reason the mineral system got ripped out in the first place. People spammed just to get minerals and it went out of control. We expect this tendency again, but we moderators have agreed to this increase in work (obviously we won't tolerate spam) in order to get our beloved minerals back.

Personally I have no problem with making the forums in which you're able to gain minerals public but for now it should suffice to know that mainly SC1 or SC2 related forums give minerals and the more productive the forum, the more you can gain. So if that leads to people being more active in the production and assistance forums then this is a welcome side effect.

The reason longer posts give you more minerals is to fight the decline in post quality you mentioned. Quotes and edits don't net you minerals btw.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Aug 7 2010, 7:49 pm by NudeRaider.

Aren't items a bit expensive, considering that you drastically reduced the mineral income?

Maybe, as said, experimental phase. For now, better too expensive than too cheap.

Better yet, just right. : /

If the mineral per post value was low, post spamming would be less likely to occur. Though i think minerals should vary by forum. Such as Map making assistance should be 5 and Null forums should be 1, etc.

Lotus, this is the case already. Some forums are giving more, others are lower and some even do not hand out minerals, to avoid spam we are not going to tell what forum gives how many.

Because it's hard to guess what forums a mapmaking website administration cares most about.

I'm fine with that, I would like my posts to have meaning, rather than just for minerals. I suppose there won't be a mineral per new activity ratio also?

true

My Mugs of Moose Appreciation transformed into Exalibans. I've been ripped off!

Ah, I see, that's why I received multiple minerals for the above post.

There are some questions I have about the store, though.

1. Why are prices non-round numbers like 484 or 963? Is it tied to the quantity of that item in stock and its rarity?

2. Now that the global space item is in the store, are we to expect the loss of the 300 MB storage in the upcoming times?

3. The "Title Enabler" and "Signature Enabler" items. I joined at a time when minerals didn't exist and I was able to get a title after reaching 100 activity and a signature after 50, but with the introduction of these items in the store, does this mean that I will lose the ability to change them until I purchase the items, and will new members have to buy those to unlock even if they reach the appropriate activity level?

4. What is that "hidden item"?

We think the pricing is just right. Don't think we have set the prices arbitrarily, we have estimated average mineral income and worked from there. If our estimations turn out to be a bit off all it needs is some number tweaking for store items and this should become obvious before most members even have the minerals to buy an item. So maybe save your money for now, if you won it through a contest and wait until we have finalized the store prices.
Also don't expect to be able to buy an item every few weeks. This is supposed to be a long-term system.

1. It's random and doesn't depend on the "in-stock" count afaik
2. uh, not yet but I guess I will remove the unlimited space pretty soon
3. Your cannot change and they will be removed soon for those of you who do not have the item
4. it's hidden hint: E _ _ _ _ _ _ u _

...In the time it took me to write the above post, nine one-line posts were written and posted to the thread. Isn't this something to be alarmed of?

EDIT> Okay, so at least you guys had a failsafe to not award more than 5 minerals per post. Still doesn't stop people from posting 22k character spam then editing it to a one-liner and still get 5 minerals.

There are code fixes for things like that. Furthermore, people deliberately abusing the system like that will soon find themselves very harshly punished.

Quote

but if the number of mineral-awarding forums is too low

It isn't. Most forums give minerals.

Also, Dev, why are prices random? Can I wait for negative prices?

Ask IP, the store in v5 had been random prices as well. Negative will never happen, there is a Minimum and a Maximum for each item.

Prices should be determined by supply and demand, rather than randomization. They can even be out-of-stock, but that last one will be so expensive Then the stock refills over time, until it hits an inventory cap. I don't know, seems to make more sense than "lol random"