Delta update proposal [vote!]

Following initial response to my suggestion poll (still open here), as well as feedback on this suggestion, I have some plans for the Holon Tower.
Update 18/Mar: Poll results! I have five changes planned and will be adding a poll to this thread for each one. I welcome your opinions on this matter. All being well, I'd like to implement these by the end of the month, but that is to be determined. 1. Boost DP value of specials again A recent update allowed trading in of Deltas for DP ("recycling" them) and slightly boosted the value of trading in Shinies and Albinos. The proposed update is to double again the value of Shinies and Albinos for DP. As a reminder, the value of DP is based on a "base price" that is tied to the amount of EXP needed to hatch the Egg, and then multiplied by a particular modifier. - Trade in Delta: was 0x, currently 1x, will remain 1x - Trade in Shiny: was 1x, currently 2x, will be 4x - Trade in Albino: was 2x, currently 3x, will be 6x - Trade in Melanistic: was, is and will remain 200x - Delta one Egg: was, is and will remain 5x 2. Increase the DP gained from guest clicks The DP gained from receiving interactions from guests was 1 point per guest up to a maximum of 10 per day. This update will change that to 5 points per guest up to a max of 50 per day. I would like to make a note on the "purpose" of this feature. It is not for you to log out and click yourself for a free point. It is not to get your friends to do the same for you. The purpose of this feature is to encourage you to share your Display Codes on other sites you visit, such as other forums (in your signature) or on social media. This is intended to help spread PFQ far and wide, and hopefully gain new players too. Further note: if a player arrives on PFQ through one of your Display Codes and subsequently registers on the site, your name will automatically be entered as their referrer, which can lead to a nice Referral Bonus for the both of you. I have asked the art team to make some more Custom Sprite pairs for that feature and they're workshopping some ideas for that. I'm quite liking the concepts so far! 3. Allow spending DP on more things, starting with Z-Fragments This one is a multi-part update so let's break it down further. 3a. Boost the base Albino rates again A recent update saw Albino rates halved in an effort to redress the balance. And by "redress the balance" I do not mean "never change it again". If a scale is tipped too far to one side, you need to over-compensate on the other side for a little while in order to overcome that imbalance, before releasing at equilibrium. You need to apply extra force to the other side of the scale. That's how physics works, and the analogy holds true for the game balance here. I am proposing a 50% boost to the base Albino rates. However, in return... 3b. Nerf the power of Z-Crystals Doubling for a day doesn't feel right, in my opinion. It's too strong of a boost for too short of a time. I propose changing it from a 100% boost for a day, to a 50% boost for 3 days. Combined with 3a, this will mean an overall increase of 25% Albino chances compared to the current chances. This will come with some additional adjustments. Namely, decoupling the Z-Crystal from the charging portion of the Radar, and instead having it as a separate tab rather like the Shiny Charms are. You will be able to use a Z-Crystal at any time, either before or after charging the Albino Radar itself. You will also be able to discard your current Z-Crystal boost in order to activate one of a different type, or use a second Z-Crystal of the same type to extend the duration. 3c. Allow purchase of Z-Fragments for DP As per the suggestion thread I linked at the top of this post, the proposal would be 30 DP for one Z-Fragment, but you can only buy the Fragment matching the type of the current V~Wave. You can of course use the Forecast on the V~Wave page to help know when to buy the type you want. While the price may seem steep by current standards (effectively 210 DP for a Z-Crystal lasting only one day), I believe that it is a fair price when considering the other parts of this proposal. It also should avoid undermining the Type Race, which will still be an opportunity for everyone to obtain Z-Fragments and Z-Crystals. 4. Allow DP to be traded While the direct trading of DP is not possible without a major rewrite of the trade system, what I can offer is something similar to the Wishforge's Big Gem mechanic. Namely, an item that can be bought for DP, and then exchanged back for DP. There would be a small fee involved, either in the form of Credits (like Box Boxes) or decay where you have to pay more DP than the recipient will get back (like Big Gems - pay 11 to get a Big Gem worth only 10). Different denominations of DP will be available, from 10 DP up to 1000 DP, with the fee being proportionally smaller for the higher-DP items. This will allow trading of DP to be easy and efficient, compared to having to send over individual Pokémon one at a time. On that subject... 5. Disallow trading in Pokémon for DP that you did not hatch This change will of course be announced ahead of time so that users have an opportunity to trade in anything they want to before it goes live. There are a number of reasons for proposing this change, so let me go through just a few of them: - It would prevent people who, either through incompetence or through malice, ShinyDex Trade something (or worse, MelanDex Trade) and "accidentally" turn it in for DP instead of trading it back. - It would prevent people from getting upset when they sell a special they worked hard for, expecting it to go to a good home, only to see it thrown away for DP. While it is true that our trade rules state that "once it's sold, the buyer can do what they want with it," I do understand that it can be a negative experience for the seller in this case. - It would properly separate "trading for specials" from "trading for DP". This should allow specials to be traded for their actual value, to collectors who want to keep them for themselves. Like if I wanted a Shiny Haxorus (hint hint just kidding please do not just send me one, I know it seems silly but I know someone would actually do that...) then I would be able to buy one and pay the seller what such a handsome Shiny is actually worth. Conversely, if I just want a bunch of DP, I would be able to go out there and LF DP. I'm sure there are other benefits as well, but those three are already plenty for me to be proposing the change! As I said, people will be given plenty of advance notice of this change before it goes out.

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Please vote in the polls above, and let me know your thoughts on these changes!

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Poll results: Most of these updates were fairly unanimously accepted by the community, with 90% or even more in favour. I will begin work on these updates, with the aim of completing them by April. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a strong majority for update 3b, the "nerf", as it was reassuring to see that the community as a whole is actually quite reasonable and receptive to "negative" changes if it means better site health. It's also possible that people just liked the idea of longer-lasting Crystals, but regardless of reasons the conclusion is clear and this update will be added to the group. Update 5 was incredibly close. But despite hovering around 50:50 for a while, it is leaning towards a "no". That being said, there were plenty of opinions given. I will be taking Update 5 away, back to the workshop, and either shelve it or bring it back after some reworking to get further opinions. For now, Update 5 is on hold and will not be a part of the update package. Thank you for voting and sharing your thoughts. Time to get to work!

About number 5 Maybe person who hatched pokemon can have option to lock it from trading into dp? When someone care about melans they hatched, they can not care about all shinies. And DP locked pokes get mark for example close to melan star that mean this pokemon is locked from trading into dp but this is green for example. I think this can be good compromise when I see voting about this one.

Honestly, this idea could save the delta market. If I'm honest, deltas in this game aren't too great, they cost too much to delta and you get nothing mostly. So, I think these changes would be a great idea, for collectors and merchants alike!

Bringing Albinos back up just a smidge while slightly nerfing the z-crystal to compensate for allowing more z-crystals into the market, sounds like a good series of changes. As for Deltas, I'm all for more/better avenues to gaining DP. They seem like neat little collectables that, at the moment, just simply aren't worth hunting for because of how grueling it is to gain DP.

based on the poll, it looks like the fifth proposition is pretty unpopular... for me personally, i was nodding along with absolutely everything in the post (well... i do think the proposed further increase to dp is a LITTLE high, but it would be good to experiment to see what best helps deltas gain popularity and value so i voted yes regardless). i did vote for decay instead of credits for the dp trade items but i do think either would make sense.

Overall I'm a big fan of these updates. The only one I'm hesitant about is number 5. If 5 were implemented though, I don't think there should be any cost to converting DP to an item because then it wouldn't like boxes or gems where you can trade the smaller denominations still. It'd be a cost just because you want to trade the DP which I don't think would be fair. I'm fine with the fee/decay (preferably fee) though if 5 isn't implemented though because then it's really just a convenience fee like the boxes/gems.

I was with you up until #5. I feel like this would put a damper on the specials market, rather than a boost. As of right now the specials I buy/sell are intrinsicly worth DP, and I pay/charge accordingly. If all of a sudden the pokemon I bought are somehow less than the pokemon I've hatched, it puts that much more of a frustration on the reduced hatch rates. I'd much rather have a 'protection' lock much like the EXP lock. Then if the pokemon is dex traded the user cannot 'accidentally' trade it in for DP. If they unlocked the pokemon in order to trade it in, it would be done with malicious intent. In which case they would be reported for theft, just as they would be if they wonder traded it away. Which if a 'protection' lock is being considered, perhaps it could also prevent the pokemon being put in the wonder trade.

point 5 would cause the market to become oversaturated again. Delta points should stick as a sink for s/a pokemon so inflation doesn't destroy their worth. If this was implemented, it would be better as an item that locks it from being traded for delta points that costs currency

I'm not quite sure I understand this. My intention with proposal 5 is that the Shiny/Albino/Melan market actually goes back to being a Shiny/Albino/Melan market, and the Delta Point market can be something separate. Instead of buying specials to DP yourself, you would be buying DP from people who have sold their specials (or will do so on request).

I think what Fuecoco's saying is that because it would separate the specials bought/traded from the DP sink. So we'd still have a large supply of 'not owned by the OT' specials floating around with the same (or less) demand.