Update/Ravamp Pet Derby, the Forgotten PVP Passtime
Yes, this idea is coming a bit late, since the pet update has already happened, but better late than never! If you log on right now, and waltz into the Pet Pavilion, you'll find the kiosk COMPLETELY EMPTY. It's time that changed.
Pet Derby has been swept under the carpet for years now and has faded into near-total obscurity. While Beastmoon Hunt and the Arena are fun, Pet Derby offers something neither mode does. In its prime Pet Derby was a laid-back experience for the non-competitive player.
Pet Derby as a PVP mode, wasn't hard to learn nor was it heartbreaking to lose. Everybody stood on similar ground as hatching pets for the derby wasn't a common practice. On top of this, the Pet Derby doesn't suffer from the same social atmosphere (at least in my experience) as Beastmoon or Arena. This is since players can't talk to each other during the derby. Tracking down the player who won first place afterward is an arduous task. It also was a quick experience that took 5 to 10 minutes a race at most. But now the Pet Derby sits unused and gathering dust and hasn't seen any attention in years!
Granted Pet Derby wasn't perfect. But the promise of major changes coming to the Dueling Arena, it might be wise to give Pet Derby so TLC as well. Many players are online during this quarantine, it would be very possible to consider updating the Derby to be more interesting. The following are a few possible ideas for things that could help revamp the Pet Derby.
A big reason on why the Derby has died out is because the activity isn't worthwhile to most players. So, including as an activity in the Pet Promenade event might entice players to try the Derby. Awarding a large sum of points for participating in the derby several times. It could that 1st place wins counting for multiple races, while 4th place only counts for 1 race. Player's will get credit if they complete the race. That way people aren't yanking the internet cables because they're not in 1st place.
Another thing that would entice players to try the in the Derby is to have it award the same amount of arena tickets as regular PVP. Even in Pet Derby's prime, people waited for hours for competitive races. Even then those placed first only got 4 arena tickets for the effort. Which makes no sense since Pet Derby does use some level of skill, by comparison to Dueling. If KI raised the derby's competitive rewards to be equal with the regular PVP payout, Pet Derby would be a more popular and worth-while activity.
Another thought is to add more styles of race. For example, having a team-based relay-race style and the fastest team wins. Or for those who want a challenge there could be a single-player obstacle course/parkour type race (as seen in the Way of the Ninja Pig Minigame). Where your goal is to get the fastest time possible and getting knocked off the course adds time. There could be a sort of "triathlon" option. That would allow the player to choose 3 separate pets to compete in 3 successive races, on 2 different maps. At the end of each race placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, will give you a certain number of points. These points get counted at the very end, the player who has the most points wins. The more points you have the greater your rewards.
There could also be new different racing maps, that offer new challenges and obstacles besides the existing ones. For example, a Polaris map covered in ice that causes pets to slide around and into other lanes. An underwater map with all new unwater obstacles. So many new worlds have arrived since Pet Derby was last updated. So, the possibilities for new maps and interesting new obstacles are endless! These could all be incorporated into the other race types as well. Could you imagine trying to navigate a Way of the Ninja Pig type course that's covered in slippery ice? It would make for a most interesting challenge.
Another idea that help would be having a 'tournament like' option for the Derby. Players pay a gold entrance fee instead of crowns. The rewards wouldn't be as spectacular as the Dueling Arena's, but this way everyone could reap the fun. Progression would be the same as the Dueling Arena Tournaments. But the payoff for winning the tournament would be larger since it takes much longer to complete.
Also, one minor change that may or may not already be incorporated into the matchup algorithm. Matchups based upon internet connection. I have seen many other games put in place this feature in their matchups. Whenever a game relies on speed to win, it is important to make sure players have a similar connection. Players with faster internet find themselves at a distinct advantage over players with a slower internet. Thus, those players with faster connections tend to win more often. Having players with similar connection play against each other, evens the playing field. Like I said this may or may not already by implemented in-game but if it isn't, it's something to consider.
Those are all the major things I could think off, what do you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Re: Update/Ravamp Pet Derby, the Forgotten PVP Passtime
The Lore Keeper on May 8, 2020 wrote:
Yes, this idea is coming a bit late, since the pet update has already happened, but better late than never! If you log on right now, and waltz into the Pet Pavilion, you'll find the kiosk COMPLETELY EMPTY. It's time that changed.
Pet Derby has been swept under the carpet for years now and has faded into near-total obscurity. While Beastmoon Hunt and the Arena are fun, Pet Derby offers something neither mode does. In its prime Pet Derby was a laid-back experience for the non-competitive player.
Pet Derby as a PVP mode, wasn't hard to learn nor was it heartbreaking to lose. Everybody stood on similar ground as hatching pets for the derby wasn't a common practice. On top of this, the Pet Derby doesn't suffer from the same social atmosphere (at least in my experience) as Beastmoon or Arena. This is since players can't talk to each other during the derby. Tracking down the player who won first place afterward is an arduous task. It also was a quick experience that took 5 to 10 minutes a race at most. But now the Pet Derby sits unused and gathering dust and hasn't seen any attention in years!
Granted Pet Derby wasn't perfect. But the promise of major changes coming to the Dueling Arena, it might be wise to give Pet Derby so TLC as well. Many players are online during this quarantine, it would be very possible to consider updating the Derby to be more interesting. The following are a few possible ideas for things that could help revamp the Pet Derby.
A big reason on why the Derby has died out is because the activity isn't worthwhile to most players. So, including as an activity in the Pet Promenade event might entice players to try the Derby. Awarding a large sum of points for participating in the derby several times. It could that 1st place wins counting for multiple races, while 4th place only counts for 1 race. Player's will get credit if they complete the race. That way people aren't yanking the internet cables because they're not in 1st place.
Another thing that would entice players to try the in the Derby is to have it award the same amount of arena tickets as regular PVP. Even in Pet Derby's prime, people waited for hours for competitive races. Even then those placed first only got 4 arena tickets for the effort. Which makes no sense since Pet Derby does use some level of skill, by comparison to Dueling. If KI raised the derby's competitive rewards to be equal with the regular PVP payout, Pet Derby would be a more popular and worth-while activity.
Another thought is to add more styles of race. For example, having a team-based relay-race style and the fastest team wins. Or for those who want a challenge there could be a single-player obstacle course/parkour type race (as seen in the Way of the Ninja Pig Minigame). Where your goal is to get the fastest time possible and getting knocked off the course adds time. There could be a sort of "triathlon" option. That would allow the player to choose 3 separate pets to compete in 3 successive races, on 2 different maps. At the end of each race placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, will give you a certain number of points. These points get counted at the very end, the player who has the most points wins. The more points you have the greater your rewards.
There could also be new different racing maps, that offer new challenges and obstacles besides the existing ones. For example, a Polaris map covered in ice that causes pets to slide around and into other lanes. An underwater map with all new unwater obstacles. So many new worlds have arrived since Pet Derby was last updated. So, the possibilities for new maps and interesting new obstacles are endless! These could all be incorporated into the other race types as well. Could you imagine trying to navigate a Way of the Ninja Pig type course that's covered in slippery ice? It would make for a most interesting challenge.
Another idea that help would be having a 'tournament like' option for the Derby. Players pay a gold entrance fee instead of crowns. The rewards wouldn't be as spectacular as the Dueling Arena's, but this way everyone could reap the fun. Progression would be the same as the Dueling Arena Tournaments. But the payoff for winning the tournament would be larger since it takes much longer to complete.
Also, one minor change that may or may not already be incorporated into the matchup algorithm. Matchups based upon internet connection. I have seen many other games put in place this feature in their matchups. Whenever a game relies on speed to win, it is important to make sure players have a similar connection. Players with faster internet find themselves at a distinct advantage over players with a slower internet. Thus, those players with faster connections tend to win more often. Having players with similar connection play against each other, evens the playing field. Like I said this may or may not already by implemented in-game but if it isn't, it's something to consider.
Those are all the major things I could think off, what do you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I agree with several of your ideas! The Pet Derby should definitely be a part of the Pet rewards events, since you are still training. I used to find the derby more fun than some of the other training minigames, but they were always so much faster to complete from a purely training standpoint. Therefore, making the pet derby worthwhile would require an additional reward of some nature rahter than being solely to feed snacks. I really love the way players are encouraged to use teamup with gear and new housing, for example, so perhaps a similar type of situation could take place here? I also agree that more maps and a bigger variety of obstacles would spark new interest.
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