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Updates!
  Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly!September 5th, 2013 5:30:49pm 4,333 Posts |
First and foremost, I would like to remind everyone that Patriot Paints and Liberty Labs will be available in the HP Store through the 11th in honor of 9/11, but then they will be out of the store until next year, so make sure you stock up now! Secondly, make sure you enter our bad drawing contest! So far we only have four entries and you can win a 30 day upgrade and 100k points on any animal, plus an achievement for participating in an art contest! You don't have to be a good artist to enter! It's just supposed to be fun :). And at the end of the contest we will put everyone's entry up for a vote! You can see all of the rules here. And finally, if you have been keeping up with the forums, you know there's been a lot of debate regarding the fate of associations. We got lots of feedback on our topic about getting rid of associations, and there are a lot of opinions on both sides of the issue (keeping them, versus getting rid of them), so we think we have come up with a compromise! Instead of keeping separate clubs and associations or getting rid of associations and keeping clubs, we thought it might be best to take the best of both worlds and create "societies" (brownie points for anybody who can come up with a better name!). So basically we would take the basic club/association format, but instead of cycling through presidents each month, or keeping one owner for the life of the association, the presidency would last for 2 months (could be 3?). This would give everyone an opportunity to save some money to run, and give the current presidents a chance to actually do something with the club before it goes out again for the next month. But it also means that anyone who was upgraded could have a chance at running a club, which is something I know some people don't like about associations. So then we could have the following categories: "Horse", "Dog", and "Other", and each new society that we added could be voted on by the community (maybe current associations which are popular could get first pick) to see which ones they wanted added. And then at the end of each term we could make it so that the layout doesn't reset for things like the directories. We could then add in some new features like being able to send out an achievement in your club to people who have participated or won contests or something, and then presidents could collect donations to pay for "upgrades" to the club, which could give them the ability to make more shows per week, or for their members to gain more points when registering their animals. I think that doing this would make it much easier for them to stay active as a community feature and be far less confusing on what the differences between each are. Thoughts? Suggestions? I've created a discussion topic here. |
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 Cerulean ♠ September 5th, 2013 9:43:25pm 105 Posts |
My opinion:-Clubs should stay the same. 1 month per term.-Players may run as many clubs as they desire, as it's only for a short term.I actually check all the clubs pretty frequently for new contests and content, because the Presidents cycle often. I enjoy it :)-Associations should stay the same, term wise.-Each player should only have 1 association.-The President of an association may choose to have an election for Vice President. The Vice President term is for a set amount of months (1-6?)-Presidents/Vice Presidents can give out achievements to participants.-Animals receive points when registered to an association.-Associations should have a weekly income to budget contests.-Associations should have "level ups" depending on how long they stay active. Perhaps more shows per week, larger budget, reward a set amount of points to all registered animals once a month, etc.-Players can own an association and run in clubs at the same time. |
 Fantasy German Shepherds (Main) I felt so much, that I started to feel nothing.” — Unknown September 5th, 2013 11:34:03pm 276 Posts |
I don't think revamping the clubs and associations as one would work. i agree in part to others on this page. I understand that association and club owners are frustrated with no participation. but i think people need to understand that the majority of players on htis game are adults with families, work and other responsibilities. the one thing im frustrated about that i would like changed is the club registry. it shouldn't just be 'AKC' accepted breeds only. And maybe instead on having it go till literally that last minute for votes- close the voting a day early or something. because those in alternate time zones shouldn't have to stay clued to the computer to see if they bought enough votes to win a term. if voting closed 1 day before then maybe more people would want to be presidents. me personally i tried running in a couple clubs-and i will be winning with votes up to the end of the month, then wam im not president becuase someone has come in AT ThE LAST minute to vote. Which i think is not fair.sorry that is my rant for today |
| Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly! September 5th, 2013 11:56:57pm 4,333 Posts |
Before I address any specific points, I think a lot of people are missing that in this scenario clubs and associations would not exist anymore. There would be societies in place of them. There would no longer be two separate things in any sense if we were to go with this. And I realize that it's impossible to make everyone happy, but the current system is not working. Most of us can agree on that. Spending time, effort, and money updating, bug fixing, etc. a feature that no one really likes or uses (which is the current clubs/associations) is just taking up space on our server and money from our budget which could be used for things that more people participate in. Just leaving them be EXACTLY as they are now doesn't solve any of the activity problems that many players have complained about in their surveys and in feedback to me and such. It also doesn't solve any of the other issues with them. No matter if we do this or not, we probably can't just leave associations. The options we have are basically to do this in some way (combining them), remove them completely, keep them exactly as they are now and have them die out slowly, or revamp them in some way. The current associations are full of bugs, the coding is old, and they cannot exist as they do now indefinitely since the entire system isn't working. So no matter what there will need to be some changes made to them to keep them alive. For those who said that part of the fun was running your own association and owning it - my ORIGINAL idea for this which a few people didn't like as much, was that there would be "core" societies where the presidency cycled through every month, for example "All Horses" and "All Dogs" could be this way. But then other societies would be owned by the same person indefinitely until they either decided to give it up, or they became inactive, at which point that society would either go up for re-election or be removed from the game. Would this be an acceptable compromise? As for directory-type associations, we would add an "other" type to clubs, which would just stay up as they cycled through presidents with this idea. |
 Mobius // is admiring her new layout with her TBs September 6th, 2013 12:02:27am 316 Posts |
I do like that "core" idea.I think I would be happy with associations going away if that was put in place. |
| Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly! September 6th, 2013 12:05:37am 4,333 Posts |
Oh! I also wanted to address this from Fantasy:"the one thing im frustrated about that i would like changed is the club registry. it shouldn't just be 'AKC' accepted breeds only. And maybe instead on having it go till literally that last minute for votes- close the voting a day early or something. because those in alternate time zones shouldn't have to stay clued to the computer to see if they bought enough votes to win a term. if voting closed 1 day before then maybe more people would want to be presidents. me personally i tried running in a couple clubs-and i will be winning with votes up to the end of the month, then wam im not president becuase someone has come in AT ThE LAST minute to vote. Which i think is not fair."In the registry for clubs/associations they are set by the current presidents/owners, not by us. So if you're unhappy with the registry you should take it up with whoever is in charge at that particular time and maybe they will make a change?And for closing the registries a day early, maybe I am misunderstanding what you mean, but wouldn't there be the same issue, but it would happen the day before the end of the month instead? |
| Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly! September 6th, 2013 12:08:24am 4,333 Posts |
Also! If we did the idea with "core societies" we could port in current associations that are active/popular be to be a non-core society which would then only go up for election if the president quit or something. |
 Blitz -- Stellar Gypsy Vanners September 6th, 2013 12:12:17am 1,308 Posts |
Personally, I don't like the core idea because I don't see how that's any different from the system now, which isn't working. :P Except that like half of the people who currently own associations would still lose them. If we're going to make them the same, make them the same, not same but different.Explaining to a new member the different between core clubs and clubs sounds awful and confusing. |
 trig ❄️ the best is yet to come September 6th, 2013 1:30:22am 3,615 Posts |
If this is the alternative to removing associations I'd rather just have them removed and only have clubs. I'll be pretty disappointed if after the years of compiling breeders for the almanac it's just wiped out or completely changed by a new owner. I'd either dump it completely or possibly move it to a spare account to avoid this happening. I've just put too much work into it to take a chance of someone messing it up. Moving it to a personal account just doesn't seem fair to my members. They won't be able to register or enter shows.
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| Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly! September 6th, 2013 1:59:53am 4,333 Posts |
Well, there is always revamping the associations, the problem is that no one has (and hasn't for a really long time) any ideas. |
 `starcrossed 💫🔮 September 6th, 2013 2:23:38am 249 Posts |
I totally agree with trig. If you're going to do this, I prefer it if you just got rid of the associations all together. I'd be really saddened/upset/frustrated/disappointed if my association was run by different people. It was my idea and thought that went into it after all. I also think times have changed somewhat. In the beginning when I started the association I had so many participants, but now I basically only have one that has remained loyal. I don't think anything in the system has changed, so I'm guessing the current players aren't interested or just don't have the time to get invested. What if you guys change it & the same problem still remains? Then those of us who are still passionate about our associations just lost all of that for nothing? |
Blitz -- Stellar Gypsy Vanners September 6th, 2013 3:11:29am 1,308 Posts |
It's not like associations would just be gone, you could move them to player pages. The only thing you'd lose is registry, but since that doesn't really do anything, it's not much of a loss. :P |
 LUX → formerly HANSEN [ 10-10 ] September 6th, 2013 4:03:00am 37 Posts |
IMO, I think this is a great idea. Here are some thoughts from an average player:Your real issue here isn't derived from the clubs or associations as far as lack of participation. It comes from A) the economy and B) the amount of clubs and associations. I'll explain.As far as economy goes, I consider myself to be an average player and I have 1.1 bil. What real incentive is there for me to go do a word search for 500k? And a majority of players are richer than I am. It's kind of like pulling your car over to pick up a penny. I went through all the clubs (even the ones I have no relation to) and entered the contests not for the prize but out of respect for the player who took the time to run for president. Associations, though? No way. There's too many. Now, I don't really have any suggestions to change this because unless the incentives are raised, people still won't participate. Maybe grant Society presidents with the ability to award points to horses/dogs? And a limit on that each term (say, 20k a month). People would participate for points, I guarantee it. Now, this may bring about some corruption issues, but honestly, from what I've seen from players here, it should be okay.Now, the amount of clubs and associations. Clubs, there's an okay amount. Associations? For Christs sake, it takes me a whole night to send 6 horses through only associations they could be accepted to. And for what purpose? Only to be able to enter "Association" shows? Most of which aren't even created? If people think about it, there are honestly no real perks to associations otherwise. Your horse doesn't get points. You don't get perks. I would say get rid of them, and let players make associations on their own accounts. But you could do this: all UPGRADED account associations could be "HP recognized associations". Send your association forward to blitz, as before, and have your association recognized on the site for people to reference. Yeah, you won't have the registry, but private shows could serve the same purpose. Accept the horses/dogs that apply. No site perks other than free advertising, and use the perks that are already provided to you by HP. Oh, and you don't have to wait for the trim to have your association approved. (though, blitz could still do activity checks).Societies would benefit the game by:- cutting down the number of site organized clubs/associations- increase presidential campaign challenges (I can't have my own association? shoot, I'll run for president). competition would skyrocket.- 2/3 mo. terms would increase presidential abilities/participation in a club. how much can you really do in a month? not much.- we could petition for new societies (much like we do now for new breeds)Anyway, I'm game for the changes. Those are my thoughts. |
LUX → formerly HANSEN [ 10-10 ] September 6th, 2013 4:05:59am 37 Posts |
Addition:People think its not important for clubs to be active, but I seriously disagree. It's not only good for promotion of the game, but it makes it more dynamic and fun in general when things are both active and challenging. Why run for president when no one cares what you're gonna do? Games should be interactive in all aspects in order for it to be successful and engaging. |
 CopperMoments || Making Graphics Again September 6th, 2013 4:22:06am 146 Posts |
I like All of these Ideas from Cerulean "-Associations should stay the same, term wise.-Each player should only have 1 association.-The President of an association may choose to have an election for Vice President. The Vice President term is for a set amount of months (1-6?)-Presidents/Vice Presidents can give out achievements to participants.-Animals receive points when registered to an association.-Associations should have a weekly income to budget contests.-Associations should have "level ups" depending on how long they stay active. Perhaps more shows per week, larger budget, reward a set amount of points to all registered animals once a month, etc."That would be a good way to revamp associations imo that is. |
`starcrossed 💫🔮 September 6th, 2013 4:23:07am 249 Posts |
totally agree with copper! |
 • BlackFire • September 6th, 2013 4:53:44am 307 Posts |
I agree with Trig, I am completely against this. I would be seething if after owning the arabian breeders association for 3-4 years I had to sit there and watch someone else running the association. Plus in all honesty I don't think it will make them any more active then what they are ...Just the thought of losing my association to someone else is already annoying me. |
 عناية ♥︎ September 6th, 2013 9:52:55am 231 Posts |
I like Hansen's idea of having the associations on upgraded accounts have the option of being a "recognized" association and then having a directory to all the associations...but then again that seems like almost EXACTLY what it is now except the associations just aren't on upgraded accounts...I personally don't like the idea of combining clubs and associations into societies just because I feel that a lot of players have become attached to their associations, especially the ones that have existed for a long time and the owner tries really hard to make it active.I do not like the idea of having associations for specific breeds, however, the Arabian Breeders Association I know BF keeps it very active and puts in A LOT of money (like had a 500 million layout contest not too long ago). It seems unfair to be able to take away the ownership of the associations.And it seems unfair to people like BF who have put that amount of money into an association to take it away or let someone else who hasn't put any resources into it run it instead of her.Ahh I'm so torn on the issue because I feel like they aren't active enough, but I also see the points of the people who do enjoy running them and do a good job at it. I still like the idea of have the owner remain the same constantly and then having a "vice-president" or "co-president" run every 2-3 months. Addy mentioned that they would need to get along, but if you didn't get along with the owner of that association, then you wouldn't run to be the co-president. I feel this is a great compromise because it still allows people to own their associations but also brings the influx of new ideas every other month or so. - INA! |
 misa・brandenburgers September 6th, 2013 7:18:57pm 198 Posts |
Would it be possible, if clubs and associations were combined, to have some sort of tier system? Like resource-type organizations could be Level 1 (or whatever), and they wouldn't have registries; then we could have something like the Retriever Association, with a registry and shows; and maybe further tiers with extra shows or registry bonus points? Orrrr the right to permanently own your organization?The advanced tiers could have increased creation fees (or an upgrade fee if you want to change tiers), or maybe a recurring fee (in HPD of course).. This might encourage activity (why continue paying for something you're not actively managing?) as well help take HPD out of the economy.. Just a thought! Though looking back on what I wrote, that's probably a lot of different programming to do, so idk how feasible it is :/ |
 Blue || The Original || check page for services September 6th, 2013 8:24:01pm 51 Posts |
I haven't read all the replies but:1) If you want your association so bad, like Lemo said, it is more than simple to just make an account into your "association".2) Also, it's gonna be just like clubs. If you want to run it so bad RUN FOR IT. That's the whole point, since no one wants to run for clubs and no one wants to participate adding a little competition for the now a little more interesting clubs will increase activity. A dead association isn't very fun to run imo. 3) Coding can be saved - not to sound rude - if you have coding that you don't want deleted by the next president save it on your computer or another account so you always have it. and if your adamant about running it you will run for it. 4) Offer a compensation to the people if they decide to give up their association. Yeah whatever it's a bribe but If I had an association i didn't need or was inactive anyway I might take a year upgrade or something similar to "ease the pain" of losing my association. Those who want to keep them could all be voted on. If your assoc. doesnt get voted on to stay then that's what it is. - I have a few other ideas but thats all for now |
 Famous Shamus }} from blood and ash, we will rise September 6th, 2013 8:38:08pm 276 Posts |
What about keeping associations the same so that people can run their own thing especially if they can't afford to always run for club president, and then extending clubs to a 3mo presidency in order to get more involvement in them? And doing something to give clubs money. It's way too expensive to run for president of a club and then run contests with decent prizes--it's easy to go broke. So maybe giving every club a stipend for the month/3mo period, or tickets to sell every month, etc.    |
