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New Donation System
Big Bidoof
post Oct 10 2012, 03:55 PM
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Today we're ready to unveil the new donations system for GPX, which we've been working on for the past week or so.

Due to flaws in the old system that, in hindsight, made it completely unsustainable, and the disturbingly large (three quarters or more each day) of users who block all advertisements (without which GPX cannot exist in the first place) on the site, we've decided to implement a new microtransaction system to help keep server costs maintainable. This new system will allow users to activate special effects, referred to as a Plus, for all users of the site. These effects include doubling the amount of Pass Orbs or Poke Chests you're able to earn, having infinite use of Heart Sweets, being able to hatch eggs before they're an hour old, and many more.

Users will be able to buy Credits, either for themselves, or another user, that can then be spent towards any Plus the user desires. In addition, buying Credits in denominations of ten or more will allow you to disable ads for 60 days per ten Credits purchased. Once a Plus' counter is filled up, that Plus will be active starting at Reset, and for the three days thereafter, along with a randomly-determined multiplier. After this three day period is over, that Plus' counter will be reset, but the counters of the other Plusses that weren't active will not. We felt that extending it over three days, as opposed to just one day would be much more fair, so that in the event that you should spend Credits on a Plus, but then be otherwise occupied for a day with school, work, or other affairs, you can still take advantage of it for the remaining two days.

All users will receive these benefits, regardless of having purchased any Credits or spent any towards the Plus, with the exception of users who have contributed under the old system. We decided the fairest way to handle the users who already have bonuses from contributing, rather than allowing them to double-dip between both the old, deprecated system, and the new one, was to allow them to choose which donation system they'd like to receive bonuses from. Users who contributed under the old system will be able to keep their existing perks, or upgrade to the new system and receive the new ones (and in addition, a free bonus of 15 Credits as a thank you for your continued support!). All users, regardless of when they've contributed, will continue to have a separate user group.

One large advantage that the new system also has over the old one is that it's completely automated - that is to say, when you complete your purchase, in most cases (essentially, unless you pay via eCheck), you'll instantly and automagically receive your Credits (as opposed to how it was before, when I had to manually change the user group of each and every contributor).

One thing I wanted to make sure to make absolutely clear is that Credits will never, in any way shape or form, be able to be used in any way that only benefit the purchaser. Our core philosophy has always been that the entire game should be available to everyone, whether they are willing to and able to contribute financially or not, and that there should be no gameplay advantages to said users (as much as we do greatly appreciate any and every financial contribution you make!). Even with this new system, however, and any future additions we may make to it, this philosophy remains completely unchanged.

We hope you'll enjoy the new system, and the benefits it will bring to everyone! We'd very much like to not have to return to penalizing users who block the advertisements on the site, but if this new system proves unsuccessful, for the good of all GPX users, that will likely be the next step we'll take.

If you've contributed between when the old system was discontinued (when the v3 site went live) and today, you should have already been given an appropriate number of Credits. If not, please PM me about it, including the email on the PayPal account that you used, as well the transaction ID (you can find this information in an email you would have received from PayPal, as well as on PayPal itself).

A more detailed explanation of everything will be available soon in the help page, along with answers to several questions we anticipate you may have.

This thread will automagically open 10 minutes after being posted. Please take the time to read the entire post before replying, yup yup.

This post has been edited by Big Bidoof: Oct 10 2012, 05:13 PM


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Zerxer
post Oct 10 2012, 03:58 PM
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Please take the time to read everything on the page itself before asking questions, posting a complaint, or purchasing some credits; especially the note at the bottom.

I hope this helps both the site and its users!


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Commander Wymsy
post Oct 10 2012, 04:03 PM
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And do note if I notice a decent amount of people inside of this thread clearing proving that they haven't read a single thing, I will take action. We're seriously stressing the making sure you read EVERYTHING in it before you post some kind of complaint about it. A question, constructive criticism, or suggestion is fine, but just posting a whiny complaint that proves you didn't read anything is not.


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Wizboy777
post Oct 10 2012, 04:05 PM
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I really, really appreciate how you guys stuck to that "core" philosophy of never creating an "unfair" advantage that only benefit the purchaser. This is so different from other games that ask for donations. Usually, donors/subscribers have all these stupid, unfair advantages that other non-paying players just yearn to receive (but can't, because of money problems and/or parents won't let them).


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Rhapsody
post Oct 10 2012, 04:05 PM
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This is a quite nice revision of the system you have here! Having the benefits extend over three days is great, too. I wonder how much I could benefit from this Trinkets-wise... hm. That Hatch+ will be getting a lot of use.

Now I have to choose whether I want the new benefits or the old ones, although this new one is pretty enticing.

This post has been edited by Rhapsody: Oct 10 2012, 04:06 PM


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Mephistopheles
post Oct 10 2012, 04:05 PM
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This is pretty nice idea C: Might donate a bit later

This post has been edited by Mephistopheles: Oct 10 2012, 04:07 PM


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Keyda
post Oct 10 2012, 04:05 PM
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Does the tab for it have to be at the very top? I've clicked it twice already thinking it was still the party button.


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Erwan
post Oct 10 2012, 04:05 PM
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Very interesting, I like the concept! :p


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Darth Krytie
post Oct 10 2012, 04:06 PM
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I think this new system is excellent and I'll donate to it as soon as I get home. I love how everyone benefits from it.


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Boogie Ronnster
post Oct 10 2012, 04:06 PM
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I want the hatch power. Now. Must. Get.

edit:
but... I'm so anti-ads. I'm afraid of getting a virus or spyware...

so... ehh...

wait. the powers wouldn't be permanent. poooo.

now decision making is difficult ;;

edit 2: each time I read this, I get some different conclusion. Is my reading comprehension that poor? I shame my native tongue >,<

edit 3: ohhhh. I get it now. 4th reads a charm

conclusion: I can't afford to continue buying stuff to get no ads, but I want perks which I can't get without switching over. blargh. I hate making decisions.
It's nice everyone benefits from the counter though! I can live with ads, I spose. sooner or later. why make a decision now when one can procrastinate...?

edit a million: Putting "read carefully and thoroughly etc" on the top would be more effective in making people do so. I've studied human behavior. If a person is inclined to skim or totally ignore the main content of the thread, they aren't going to read bottom bits. Bold and large text helps too. This is a lot to take in. Also, there's stuff explained in the gpx tab of "plus" that isn't here. It took reading both like 5 times for whole kinetics of the process to sink in.
I took me forever to realize credit were akin to interactions to pass counter. I kept thinking obscure ways a plus counter would work. *facepalm* I never thought I'd need Spark Notes for a game xD

This post has been edited by Boogie Ronnster: Oct 10 2012, 04:39 PM


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Special K
post Oct 10 2012, 04:06 PM
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Whoa, neat! o-o Some of those new "Plus"es sound soooooooo useful grin.gif & it's pretty cool that it benefits everyone too. For 3 days! Does it say how many credits are needed to fill a counter or is that a secret? :P But this seems like a good way to encourage more donations without making it seem "unfair" for users who can donate to be able to receive more perks. This way, everyone wins!
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Eucharistica
post Oct 10 2012, 04:06 PM
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So if I was to upgrade to this new donation thingy, would I still keep the + at the beginning of my name? That's all I care about at the moment really, lol. This sounds pretty awesome though so once I get money and my question answered I will most likely switch over.


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Elito
post Oct 10 2012, 04:07 PM
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omg this is awesome omggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg


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Manticore
post Oct 10 2012, 04:07 PM
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Interesting. I'll have to think about which system I'd prefer.


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Manah
post Oct 10 2012, 04:07 PM
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Aside from all the stuff about the system itself: Could you move the Plus tab button somewhere else? I understand you want to make it as eye-catching as possible (at least for now), but to be honest, the way it is now suggests that it's more important than the Main page. In the long run this will probably get a little annoying.


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Pokii
post Oct 10 2012, 04:07 PM
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Don't know if I'll get any, but hope it helps keep up the site


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ThunderMoss
post Oct 10 2012, 04:08 PM
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I think this is a good plan.

I donated a long time ago to support the site and hide the ads. Will the ads return once my "credits" expire?

EDIT: I see I have a choice about remaining grandfathered or changing to the new system.

EDIT2: Removed my grumpy thoughts and just hope this provides an effectively way for the community to support the developers. grin.gif

This post has been edited by ThunderMoss: Oct 10 2012, 08:39 PM


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Kelleo
post Oct 10 2012, 04:09 PM
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This sounds like a really great idea! I'd donate, but I don't have much money right now and I need to save it until I at least land a job.

Also, I just noticed that the Plus tab stays selected even when I'm viewing a different tab. :/ Bug maybe?


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Chrome
post Oct 10 2012, 04:09 PM
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So basically, you're letting every single user (with the exception of donors) on this site get the benefits of plus effects we buy with our own hard earned money? That sounds like something Obama would do...and I'm not a huge fan of sharing the wealth. And the effects seem like way too big, doubling pass orbs and all that for 3 DAYS.

Could we nerf some of these plus effects?



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Fletchling
post Oct 10 2012, 04:10 PM
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Hmm....



I really appreciate that this system benefits all users, even those unable to donate. I'll be doing what I can to support the site.

EDIT: I want to add that I really appreciate the hard work that went into GPX 3.0, and the everyday running of the site. The new site design is one of the slickest and most intuitive of any site I visit (I wish my online banking was as shiny as this!) and it's really impressive to me the work that goes into making it this way. I'm coming up on my 3 year anniversary on the site, and I hope to keep playing as long as the site's here.

This post has been edited by Spacecat: Oct 10 2012, 04:24 PM


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