Having the strains progress at different rates for different users is really unfair and quite a ridiculous difference.

As it is stages for zombie strains vary from 12-16 hours. So basically even though a person may have picked the instant option the minute that the event started they could still be behind others that picked it at around the same time by Four long hours! And if all their stages progress at that same 16 hour rate then their strain could possibly be behind other users who stages are progressing at the 12 hour rate by an entire day. That is a huge difference and can make a diffference in how many strains a user will be getting in for that year. It is not fair that a user who is here and does everything in their power to be here and infected at the beginning and at every end stage not being able to get as many strains in as someone else just because they are unlucky in how fast they progress.

As an example: I was actually online when the event started. I picked the instant random option about two minutes into the event. Other users who picked that option at the same time and some users that actually picked it after me are progressing faster than I am because my stages are going at a rate of about 16 hours each stage whereas theirs are going at the 12 hour rate.

I feel like there really needs to be a change in how we progress. Honestly I feel there should be a set amount of time for each stage that can vary by strain(to keep it still a mystery at the beginning). That way it is not unfair for some users. If not changing that then at least make the difference a little less, like 12-14 hours instead of 12-16 hours.

Agreed. I always try to become infected asap but each year I fall behind one stage because my strains keep progressing so slow. It's getting old, boring and frustrating.

The uneven times do seem a bit strange, I haven't even seen stage 7 of Lake yet. I've considered myself lucky for progressing early enough to not have it spoiled by other people with Metal, but I don't understand why people who went for the instant option like I did aren't progressing at the same time as me. Besides, reaching the next stages early may seem good now, but I might be stuck at the last stage for a few hours while we wait for the others to finish before they can be unlocked in the wardrobe and I can move on to another one (I plan on doing a vial next which won't take long so it won't matter that much).

It's like why even bother choosing the random instant option if you are going to progress so much slower than others anyways? You may as well pick the strain that you actually want and not have to pay that 25,000 sp.

I agree, this is the first year when I managed to get infected right away, without a hassle, and now I'm lagging several hours behind. Seriously unfair X(

I agree with it doesn't make sense that you choose the quickest option and pay for it right off hand, few minutes into the event, and you're taking 2-4hrs longer than those that chose after. It's different if it's something you're being bitten for, as then it's a matter of response time for those who will bite you, but these were obviously the new strains that couldn't be bitten yet, so I don't see the reasoning? Someone that starts maybe 2-3 minutes before you, or even after, shouldn't be progressing to the next stage 2-4 hours before you. I had my stage six counted at 16.5 last night. I wasn't on to see the 7th but I've been averaging about 15/16+

I normally wait to see which strain I want ultimately during this event, noticing the delayed/lengthened times depending on which strain you get was... obvious to say the least.

And it is unfair.

Did another thing change, unbeknownst to the userbase, where you can no longer get multiple strains during the event because people were "hoarding" them?

I disagree that they are unfair because the times are random for everyone. The difference is actually only 3 hours (it takes 13.5-16.5 hours to progress). Anecdotally, I’ve always managed to get at least four long strains every year despite averaging on the longer end of the progression times so I don’t think this window is unreasonable to work with. (Remember that your final strain will progress after the event ends.) If the window were shortened any more, I think getting five long strains per year would be too many because it would overtake the amount that are released each year.

Agreed! This is already such a time-limited event and it's super stressful to see yourself fall behind when it's completely out of your control. I'm all in for some kind of standardization for progression times.

I may be a little salty cause last year the random times screwed me over and I missed an extra strain by like half an hour.

I think this should go into feedback. ? <:

I think the variability is fine.

Granted, as a skin collector, part of me wants hard, discrete, exact stage lengths so I can calculate precisely how long I'll need to "earn" a skin and do maths to maximize my skin collecting. But that's also boring. Nor does it give me the chance to get lucky and manage to sneak in an extra skin by combining the use of vials and 2010 skins (less stages).

Sure it can also mean I miss the chance at a new skin by a few hours. But life can do that too - if something is happening in RL to make it impossible for me to acquire a new virus at the precise moment I need to in order to maximize.

I don't understand the purpose of the time change for some... maybe if I did would be more for it?

I don't mind the random progression times but I do wish it worked a bit differently so a user wouldn't get stuck at the long end of the progression window for every stage of a virus. I think it would be more fun if you could change any time during a specific window and you didn't know when it would hit, rather than watching the users you can find who happened to get a shorter progression time and then waiting impatiently for your own virus to progress [edit] I stand corrected and nevermind, I'm pretty okay with how it works

Agreed. I know I've never been blessed with the best of luck, always progressing 16+ hours between stages, and seldom ever get to progress at 12 hour intervals.

I didn't know it worked like that. I thought each individual stage was random - not that you got stuck with the same progression through a whole virus.

That was my understanding at least. I know a few people on the strain tracking thread have been saying that they're progressing faster/slower and it seems to be consistent for each stage they get to, at least as far as I've seen (I haven't been super active on that thread this year but I have skimmed a bit)

You are correct, it is random for each stage. You can end up with a short one, then a really long one right after. You never know.

Thanks for the info. I've, personally, never tracked my progression that closely.

It might be Subeta's wonky randomizer - so maybe they have the option to get faster/slower at every stage but the randomizer keeps giving them the slower rate.

I know I'm not the norm, but for anyone interested, for the past two years, I've been recording how long my strains took, and the average time per stage: There was obviously some fluctuation between each stage, but it's never been extreme. This year, for Lake, I have a 15.35 hour average progression rate.

Also , I'm not sure where you got your OP stats, but progression has never been 12 hours normally. This year, even for the fastest progressions, the average is still 14.2 hours. 14 hours is really well within the norm.

I think the average is 13.5-16.5 hours a stage, with the most common time being 15 hours. With the start of the event, obviously the fastest progressions are going to be seen, but it's not the average.

I think you should correct the first post with this. As it's misleading and incorrect.

That's all to say - I get it. It's frustrating to know that my strain is going to finish around 2:20am tonight, when stage 8 is going to be appearing for others around 6pm. And I received my instant random strain in the first 20 minutes of the event! So I get it. That being said, it's not "unfair" when it's RNG.

You can make the argument that it should be adjusted to be more stable across the board, but it is random. I would personally like the range to be lowered a little bit (14.5-15.5 hrs). It would potentially help alleviate the vast time differentials seen between slow progressions and the fast ones.

That being said, even with a slow progression rate, I'm still on track to get 4 strains if I want them this event. I have a buffer of just under a day, it looks like. So staff did take this into account.

I wonder how difficult it would be to implement a Survival event feature that causes your virus to progress faster, within reason. Obviously part of the point of the event is to wait and see what the final forms of the viruses will be, so maybe there could be a minimum timespan that needs to pass before you'll progress (10 hours? 12?).

It could make for a decent sP sink, and it could help immerse players in the event. Like maybe Ecks could make a comeback and offer to make users into zombies faster if they contribute funds/resources (items, etc.) to her organization, or there could be a "super biter" zombie that makes your virus progress faster.

I myself don't mind the progression length, since it keeps bringing me back to the site. But I can see why users would be worried about not being able to collect all the new skins, since this is the only time of the year to do so. Maybe there could be a random event outside of Survival where if you're not undead and wandering around the Underground, someone bites you and infects you with a random virus you don't have? I dunno how possible that would be to program, but it could be cool for adding some deeper lore to the area.