*FCFC* Next event

[PonyMama]

Okay so with YLO returning slowly, Wild and I still trying to find a way to lower the bed count (with busy lives) we are still working on things for the bed turn in thread

I came up with an idea and I wanted to know what people thought

My event last year 1+1=4
you offer up a pair of FCFC I colour two babies, you get one and the other is given away.  I would like to do this as a group event with all colourists, but to enter it would cost a bed.

I need to know what the community thinks?

We are at a total count of 200+ beds in the system.  It is hard to keep up and our choices are limited.  We need to bring that count down without robbing everyone of the beds and starting over.  We will be sitting down and finding a new system though cause this is getting to be a bit much.

[red_uni387]

I say go for it! 200 beds is way too many, and overwhelming you guys would not be good D:

[Winged]

Sounds like a good idea to me! Only one thing, might be a good idea to check who has the beds? I know i don't have any, and you might find that a lot of the beds are owned by inactive accounts.

ETA: On that note, i had a thought that perhaps you could allow a SG entrance fee for those who don't own any beds? Depends how many people that would be.

[PonyMama]

Yes I think having an SG amount for those without beds is good but will be limited to 1 pair
but most the beds out there are owned by active members

[Rosedawn]

And that doesn't count the beds that are paid for that have not been passed out because those people who paid for a year I've still been handing out their monthly take.

Though I think I may be able to figure out what they paid and maybe refund them if you'd prefer PM so we don't add to the count?

[SGA]

I'm sorry, I understand the need to lower the beds, I do!  but if I use a bed, I'm going to want my full amount of babies for it.  Ex.. if I enter two fcc, and pay a bed, I am not going to want to get one baby and the other go to someone else.  Unless I am misunderstanding somehting (possible!) in which case I appologize and will happily reconsidr my stance once I understand better.

I actually liked the out of season thread set up, and was quite content to turn in all my beds, one by one, for that event.

I do admit I have a lot of beds, so I can see where it can be daunting, especially if there are others with the quantity I have.  But I have plans for each of mine, and unless whatever event is made can also fit in with my plans for my needs, I won't be entering my beds.

[toffeeca]

I agree with Kadana. The beds guarantee at least two babies in a breeding, so trading them in to only get one baby while other people can get the same baby simply for SG is not something that I would be interested in. I understand that there are a lot of beds out there, but I just don't feel like this is fair compensation for the beds, especially when they have been going for 2 beds=4 babies or 1 bed=1 full custom.

I really think that something needs to be decided about the kennels/catteries now because the beds are just building up even more. I am owed another 12 beds which have the fees waiting in limbo, so it seems like changing that should be done sooner, unless you plan to just cancel the last three months worth of beds for everyone?

[PonyMama]

It was just an idea
as it stands right now, YLO is just starting to come back, we were unable to change anything while she was gone as we all needed to agree to a change that big.
we are unsure what to do at this point so I had a thought

but technically with the trade in thread we are giving you only 2 babies per bed, or one adult per bed.  yes we made some changes to allow for people to keep them all and allow an edit just to remove some of the beds but we remove a great deal just to have a new month add more beds into the system. 

We are open to suggestions cause we don't want to remove the bonus beds completely but at this point we have no idea how to do this and make it fair on us and everyone while we find that happy middle ground solution

[YourLoveOnly]

Maybe this idea would tempt more people if you could use pets that weren't your own? Like 'wild' breedings, to get unrelated pets? Either by borrowing from me/other staff, or filling out a form describing imaginary parents. The latter option would be kinda like getting semi customs in return for a bed as their lineage is unknown, and both options could be a way of getting new breeds or unrelated pets of your favorite breeds into your pet page. Maybe that will appeal to people more? Just an idea that popped into my head which I thought could be fun so figured I'd throw it out there, not saying this should or will happen for sure.

[hiyoko]

what if you do away with giving beds out by doing comps and instead of beds kennels or catteries will get an extra point to a certain pet. Or give an option, instead of a bed a kennel or cattery could get a custom or something.

[SGA]

OK here is where I am at.  My personal goal is to own every breed (before the new breeds recently made, I think I did have every breed (except mixed)) and to have every breed registered.

For me to get a breed registered, I have to breed that breed, so I have 3 pets form the breed, one of which was bred by me.  This then, is why I don;t want to exchange my beds for customs or such.

I am happy to use a bed and get two babies from the breeding, with no chance of getting more (current out of season breeding info on agency page says 2-3 for an out of season breeding) because it means I can keep BOTH babies if I want, at least until they grow anyway, then I have one I can keep, one I can trade if I want, or still keep, and it doubles my chances of getting anything specific I may have been after in the baby.

So that's my personal goals, and breeding with someone elses pets, or wild (not made) pets etc, wouldn't really change those goals, or my need/desire for more then one baby from a breeding.

As for comps, I am in it more for breeding/collecting, so I wouldn't want bonus points for eventing or such instead of beds.  Not for the reward of being a registered kennel, anyway.  I'd be happy to earn bonus points for comps, but I wouldn't deem them worth paying a kennel/cattery registration fee every month.  Especially not when the more breeds you register, the more your kennel/cattery fee's rise.

OK Now that I have explained my personal goals, and the things I like/dislike, I will try and think of ideas that may be helpful.  Because I know just coming and saying "I don;t like that" doesn't help you much at all!

How about, instead of raising the kennel/cattery fee for each breed that gets registered, you make it one round flat fee.  Then instead of this

Catteries  or Kennels that house 4 breeds will recieve 2 free beds per month instead of just one. (this is for a single cattery or kennel, not both combined)

, which gives each user a potential of 4 beds a month, maybe just say each cattery or kennel gets a free breeding for the month.  That's one for a cattery, one for a kennel, no matter how many breeds are registered.  That cuts the potential monthly bed count in half right there.  Then, say those breedings have to be submitted that month, or they expire.  That way they don;t get backed up, and you feel bogged down.  The breedings being used, I mean they must be submitted that month.  If for whatever reason they can;t be colored right away, they have "technically" been submitted, and the kennel/cattery won't lose them.

Or you can just do the first part, without the second (time limit) but that leaves the potential for the beds to pile up again.

Personally, I would not object to just combining my cattery and kennel, and paying one flat fee and getting one "free" breeding instead of two even.  But I would want a guarantee I can then keep all of the babies born and not be forced to trade any, even if more then 2 is born.  Losing a bed, for a guarentee I can keep all the babies is a "worth it" trade off for me.  And you'd still roll to see if there were 2 or 3 babies born, so there is still the possibility of just 2, but if there was 3, I could still keep them all instead of just 2.  If that makes sense?

Also, for now anyway, I would take the bed down form the adventure search.  if you are trying to cut down the bed numbers, having that be findable in the search may be counter productive.  I'm not sure how many people play adventure with the FCFC, so it may or may not help.

[SGA]

Another thought, for me personally, I would consider trading a bed for a breeding that garnered only one pup/kitten, if I could pick something specific that would definitely be on the baby.  Just one specific thing, gender, a specific coat color, a specific marking maybe.  This would be similar to trading a bed for a custom I guess, except it would be an offspring of my pets, so then count towards the "bred by me" requirement to get the breed registered.  And it would solve my need for multiple choices, to try and raise my chances of getting whatever specific thing I was after in the offspring.  Still a breeding, so not a full custom, just one chosen thing that will be guaranteed for that breeding.

[Wildfilly94]

I really don't think taking the beds away completely would be the best idea, and I don't think that was even suggested, unless I missed something. I do NOT think that we should give kennel/cattery owners 4 potential beds a month AND a breed on top of that. That would just be insane for me to handle, and with 20+ people getting a free breed a month? Thats just too much pressure for me, especiall with us colorists having to decide who is doing what breeding, and trying to get them all done within a month. My life is just way too busy for that. :/

Right now, the concern is to get bed amounts cut down, hence why this thread was made, to come up with events to cut the bed count down, and THEN we will worry about breedings and future beds later. Once we get rid of plenty of the beds out there, taking care of the breedings/beds in the future will be MUCH easier.

So please, guys, lets try to come up with new Event ideas to shorten the bed counts. We are /not/ trying to take your beds away. Only provide opportunities for you to lessen your amount of them, and get nice breedings out of it as well. Also, please know that if you turn in beds for breedings, that DOES count to get your pets registered. No matter the amount of babies, you can register your pets from a breeding done the way we are trying/have tried doing.

[SGA]

Wild, I wasn't suggesting you give us 4 beds a month plus a breeding, I was suggesting you offer the free breeding for kennel/cattery instead of the beds.  But as I see you said you don;t want ideas for the future, just for now, I refer to my last post.

It is essentially doing what this thread initially suggested, we breed, and get one baby.  Only differences are that 1. instead of two babies being born from my breeding and I only get to keep one and the other goes.. I dunno where? My breeding would result in only one baby, but I would get to pick one guaranteed thing that the baby was born with.

This way you (and I mean you as in the FCFC shop as a whole, not you in particular, don't want to  mis-state and offend or anything there!) get some of my beds traded in, and only have to color one baby instead of the two that this thread initially considers.  And I get a baby that is guaranteed to have something I need/want, and I don;t have to worry about where my pets second baby is going to.

And that will be all from me now I guess, because apparently I am not very coherent and clear right now, if it sounded like I wanted to be given more beds then what we already get, and I don;t want to chance upsetting or offending.  I'll keep an eye out for new event threads, to see whatever is decided on in the end.

[SkySong]

I don't think Kadana wants everyone getting 4 beds. It seems like if you want to keep the beds, Kadana is suggesting to just cut down the amount and possibly add an expiration date? I think the date thing would be more work for you guys, but from what I'm getting from Kadana is pretty fair.

I myself don't have any beds (That I'm aware of) so I can't particularly participate, but I do have to ask... What's wrong with just using the beds? Are you trying to cut down on the amount of coloring?

If I were to participate, I think I'd actually like Kadana's suggestion. 1 bed = 1 baby, but you can sorta pick what the offspring would look like. Kinda like Feli's wish breeding.

[Wildfilly94]

Ah, I totally misunderstood that then. XD Im sorry!

I do like the idea to pick one thing about the baby. Kinda like Feli is taking on, where you pick something specific for the baby, instead of getting a litter.

[Rosedawn]

I think Kadana was pointing out that as it stands right NOW a person who is fully registered receives 4 beds a month. I know she does and I know I do.

Toffee the reason I haven't accepted any NEW cattery/kennel fees was because I knew of this impending change and we discussed just not accepting new fees until we could come to some kind of solution. I'm sorry your SG has been sitting in limbo because of that.

PM and I discussed a flat fee like you suggested at one point Kadana, because I think it would be unfair for you to pay 80,000 for your 1 bed, and someone else only have 1 breed registered and get the same reward for 10,000. And I know she felt the same way.

I like the idea of a wild breed, personally.

I also wouldn't be terribly opposed (though I love them) to skipping the baby stage of a breeding.....mainly because no matter how small those baby images take you additional time and energy and effort and right now I know you just want to get through some stuff. For losing that baby image we would have them grown instantly, able to trade grown images, and we wouldn't have to wait a month to breed them, should we so choose.

I also really like the idea of a custom baby. Feli is doing the same thing and I think it works well. And if people are willing to do it, it cuts down your work load.

I TOTALLY feel you guys' pain, btw. Looking at how many custom vouchers are still out there for Elenaria makes my stomach twist. Sometimes I wonder if we even remembered to take some people's out which is even MORE stressful.

[Wildfilly94]

On a side note: Rose, I know my two custom tickets have been used but never taken out.

[Rosedawn]

SEE like that. Thank you Wild they've been removed.

[PonyMama]

Yes yes Rose is good little helper
even she has not accepted custom payment knowing so many beds are out there
and I know I have made none of my earned one either, we are more focussed on the followers and trying to get a good portion of beds out of the system before dealing with us

[Silvanon]

I don't have any beds, but I remember the good 'ol Kennel days dealing with the same problem, so I feel your pain.

I think skipping the baby stage is a great idea.  Nearly halves the work.  Maybe if they still want the baby stages, the breeding costs two beds?

Hum....I'm going to spew ideas at you.  A new breed that can only be gotten by turning in a bed.  You get a random of that breed in return, or maybe a semi-custom.  Or you can get an existing pet "painted" for a bed.  Maybe have a set of special add-on items (toys, leshes, etc.) that can only be gotten by turning in a bed for them.  Maybe using two beds in a breeding guarantees one additional pup?  How about special "background scenes" that can be added on to an existing pet in return for a bed?

[DawnStar7]

Well, I only have one bed at the moment, and would be reluctant to have to give it up just to enter an event in which I only get one baby.  I have no registered Cattery or Kennel, although I've put in an application for the Cattery.  I understand the situation with the needs though, so I'm not worried about that being in "limbo"or whatever.  I think that a flat fee for the catteries and kennels is a good idea, and so is the cutting back on the number of beds you get.  Also, the idea of doing something similar to what the Feli are doing with the "wish" breedings is a great idea, and certainly something I can see myself taking advantage of.  The kitten/puppy stage is certainly cute, but it's the same regardless of breed, so getting rid of the baby stage wouldn't be a huge loss, at least to me.  There are other adoptables that don't have a baby stage at all, like Quinsta, and it works out just fine.  I also really like Silv's ideas of adding items and paint jobs for the price of a bed.  Another idea that might appeal to people with a large amount of beds is trading in a larger number of them for something special, like maybe a custom pose, or a unique item.

[Wildfilly94]

Dawn, you actually have no beds.. XD I just took out your last one for that poodle custom.

I do like the ideas guys!! Gives PM and I alot to think on about doing events for the beds ^^
I think my favorite so far is the "wish" breeding type deal.
I would LOVE to be able to do custom posed pets for multiple beds, but I dont think I am talented enough to mimic someone else's style. PM is good at it though. ;-; Unique items I could do though

[FCFC]

Just so I know and you guys know, I did NOT pass out beds for January or February to the people who prepaid for a year. I have not accepted new sg renewals NOR have I sent beds to those people who sent us sg since December (their money is still sitting in limbo to be accepted or rejected)

This is so I have a record of what has and has not been sent. Accounts that are due something (either beds or refunds) because they prepaid for a year include- Aralie (Jan & Feb), CutieePie (Jan), Kahlira, Rosedawn and Solistia (Jan-June)

People who have money sitting in limbo are not here because I have a pretty clear record of you guys since your money is still sitting there <3

[SGA]

PM I think I have some sitting in limbo, but not sure for how many months without popping over to check.  I do know I stopped sending for each month however, when I read a while ago that you all wanted to change things if you could.

My question now is, for the months I did not go ahead and send payments for because I was waiting to see what happened, will I be able to "back pay" for those months once you guys sort out how things will be done in future?

[PonyMama]

I don't see why not, Rose has been in charge of those for a while, and I can see no reason that people who stopped sending for reasons of waiting to see what we were doing can't catch up.

I do appreciate the waiting

[SGA]

hehe thanks, and yea, I wanted to keep sending, just so it would be there and *I* wouldn't forget, but I got to thinking if everyone did that, just sifting through those when the time came, would be daunting in itself.