High Scores

February 22, 2015 2:38 pm

We are pushing a soft release of a new High Scores system. The largest (and most painful) issue we faced with the old system was that each game stored its high score data separately and in various different formats. This new system centralizes the data and allows for us to easily store and retrieve the scores - removing the stress of the current system and opening many more opportunities for new high score tables.

The first batch of games that were moved to the new system were the interactive/flash games and collections.

Here are some new features and notes:

More High Scores: Instead of showing the top twenty users - the tables will show the top thirty users.

Score Updates: High score tables are updated every hour or so. Please keep that in mind when checking the tables.

Monthly Resets: Some games will have their scores reset on the first of every month. A number of the interactive/flash games are on this system - allowing users to vie for a top score without having to beat out scores that have sat there for years on end. Longer term games (collections, cumulative scores, etc) will not reset.

Daily sP Reward: We are still finalizing details for a revised sP reward system. As of right now - Subeta will continue to pay out the old way.

We'll be working on loading several more games and areas of the site soon. Stay tuned!

February 23, 2015, 10:32 pm by

I sense the joy but, I have worked so hard to keep on the list for one of the games this is kinda a sad moment too.

February 22, 2015, 10:18 pm by

Will there ever be more prize levels for the Plushie and Beanbag collections? There's over 3000 plushies but only prize levels for collecting up to 500 outside the achievements you can get.

February 22, 2015, 10:11 pm by

An all-time list that doesn't reset and is similar to the old high score tables would be nice. Or at least don't reset any personal high scores? Will the scores that are listed under the personal scores be reset? I hope not .......

February 22, 2015, 9:31 pm by

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would you like some suggestions?

Eh, offering them anyway:

Instead of resetting all scores each month, reset the scores only for users who did not play during the month. That way, users who are actively working towards a cumulative score can maintain their progress. (Perhaps, out of generosity, give users a "grace month" before resetting their score to zero.)
For the collections, there were silver, gold, and rainbow trophies (I think I'm remembering this correctly) awarded to certain cumulative scores regardless of whether they ranked on a high scores list; extend this idea to other games. This gives new users something to work towards on games even if the high scores seem unattainable. (P.S. There's an achievement of this nature related to the Caliph's Tomb game which is broken.)

February 22, 2015, 9:15 pm by

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We&;ll take a look at the achievement data and gage how many users actively use it to accumulate a score over all time. If there is a substantial amount, then we&;ll work something out

The number of users may not be large -- I can name several if you'd like -- but they tend to be long-time members who bring an intangible value to the site in terms of institutional memory and site culture.

The record will show that between January and now, I moved from 12th to 10th on one cumulative high score table (Rock Paper Scissors -- easy since hardly anyone ever played that game!), and from 20th to 12th on another (Item Scramble, which has been harder since several players on the list are active players), so the claim that it takes "forever" to make progress on the cumulative scores tables doesn't ring true with me -- it can be done if you're willing to commit a lot of time to playing the game.

Which is my point: I chose to invest time into these games instead of restocking or battling or some of the other site activities (I did some of these, but not a substantial amount), and now I'm being told that the time I put into these games may simply be deleted because some other player wants to do what I did without putting in the same amount of effort.

You wouldn't consider resetting shops and pet stats and wardrobes every month (I hope!); the fact that you'd consider doing this with game stats seems like you're playing favorites, and singling out one group of users and demolishing their accomplishments.

I'm all for a way to make the scoring system more welcoming to new users (would you like some suggestions?), but to do so at the expense of established users is not fair.

February 22, 2015, 8:22 pm by

Yay, now I feel like I actually have a chance to earn high score achievements!

February 22, 2015, 8:21 pm by

Love this. Glad to see resets. I agree it would be really epic if we could still keep the all-time list somewhere even if it's not be rewarded like the monthly reset list will be. As much as I think it's great to try to get the new players excited about being on site, I still think it's a travesty for long term players who have supported the site all this time to basically get shafted by the whole thing by having their scores deleted. Their hard work should be admired at the very least. (And yes, I say their because I suck at games and have no high scores.)

February 22, 2015, 8:04 pm by

Thank you...at least that makes me feel like I have a chance. Even if I know I still don't cause I kinda suck :)

February 22, 2015, 7:52 pm by

Congratulations on getting your coding all organized and communicating with one another. :) It makes me feel as though I MAY have a chance of getting a highscore placement. MAYBE.

February 22, 2015, 7:38 pm by

*score resets I mean

February 22, 2015, 7:38 pm by

YES THANK YOU for the score updates, I was actually just about to suggest it. Maybe that Teal Plushie won't be out of my reach after all :D

February 22, 2015, 6:40 pm by

Aw man, that's awesome! Monthly resets are a great thing to add! (No sympathy here for those that are mad, lol - sorry)

Maybe I'll be motivated to go for high scores now! :P

February 22, 2015, 5:57 pm by

Congrats on the rollout, guys. I know the pain of separate databases vs. a centralised one for platforms and lemme tell you - it is so worth it in the end. This will be worth it, no matter how frustrating is is in these early stages. Just keep being awesome, you'll thank yourselves later. Fantastic job! You'll get the bugs quashed. <3

February 22, 2015, 5:51 pm by

YES! finally other people get a chance to be at the top :)

February 22, 2015, 5:14 pm by

I am so excited for this! I think this will also drive more people to play the games. Which would hopefully mean more games being added in the future.

February 22, 2015, 5:00 pm by

Now if we can fix the blue emptiness on each page on top, that would be nice too.

February 22, 2015, 4:59 pm by

Well, I guess I'll see my name on the high score list on plushie and beanbags eventually. That's kinda neat!

February 22, 2015, 4:50 pm by

Oh, I worked so hard for my Thimblerig score :(

February 22, 2015, 4:38 pm by

LOL. 139. 5EVA. UNTIL NEW PUMPKINS.

February 22, 2015, 4:38 pm by

Soo about that battle challenger high scores list... it'd be nice if... ya know... it existed...

February 22, 2015, 4:37 pm by

Oh, I guess it's taking a while to update on my end because I still see the lists how they were about 2 hours ago. Hmm...

February 22, 2015, 4:35 pm by

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It&;s been a bit over an hour since I actually visited the prize pages for my collections, and Pumpkins and Trading Cards still haven&;t updated the lists. I have complete collections of both.

Looks like the list is filled with 139s now :/

February 22, 2015, 4:31 pm by

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People who earned retired achievements get to keep them, even though new players don&;t have a chance to earn them. Why not keep the "all-time" list in parallel to a "this month" list so that the people who&;ve put in the effort to get a spot on the all-time list can keep what they&;ve earned?

This is actually the third or fourth revamp of the high score system and the first one to actually go live

I built out one that was exactly your idea - all time and this month - back in fall 2010. We played around with it internally for some time but it didn't work out the way that we had hoped or thought that it would. We never went live with it. Though, the mechanics behind it were used for the Battle high scores (funny to think that the page actually has another huge part underneath it that is never used/redirected when loaded)

Then we tried again some other time and it was another mess. It's hard to keep a balance of all time v. current. It is also impossible to keep every side happy over high scores.

So for this - we went with a streamlined and clean way - interactive games reset monthly, collections are long term so they do not reset. As we bring on other games - we'll be axing some high score lists and then we'll be adding other high score lists for games that didn't have one

We'll take a look at the achievement data and gage how many users actively use it to accumulate a score over all time. If there is a substantial amount, then we'll work something out

February 22, 2015, 4:31 pm by

It's been a bit over an hour since I actually visited the prize pages for my collections, and Pumpkins and Trading Cards still haven't updated the lists. I have complete collections of both.

February 22, 2015, 4:29 pm by

Still think we need to get rid of the Pumpkin Collection High Scores. Once that thing updates, we ALL know it's just going to say 139 down the column. And it's going to change daily, like always.

February 22, 2015, 4:27 pm by

THANK YOU, STAFF <3 Love that. Hopefully trophies will be introduced soon -

February 22, 2015, 4:15 pm by

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for new users that don&;t bother to play the game because it&;d take forever to come close to those scores

It also takes "forever" to beat Prodigy -- y'all gonna make that easier, too?

People who earned retired achievements get to keep them, even though new players don't have a chance to earn them. Why not keep the "all-time" list in parallel to a "this month" list so that the people who've put in the effort to get a spot on the all-time list can keep what they've earned?

February 22, 2015, 4:03 pm by

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I don&;t think my score would have been "just updated" though. I&;ve received the prize for being the in top before now, so I&;m pretty sure it should already know that I have 139, and for some time now. But I&;ll keep an eye on it

This system is different (nothing was taken/matched against the old) - what I meant by 'just updated' is that your score might have just been added to the new system. Let me know if it doesn't update soon - I can take a deeper look

February 22, 2015, 4:01 pm by

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One measures total number of wins; the other measures consecutive wins (and is reset to zero if you lose a game).

In that case - both scores will reset monthly.

We want to try to limit the amount of games that don't reset. If, at any time, we want to put in an all time metric, then we can match the achievement data. Every win be counted, but the high scores will only have what was earned in that month. I know that does not sound fair to users that play the game day in and day out for months/years on end, but those high scores are a huge deterrent for new users that don't bother to play the game because it'd take forever to come close to those scores

February 22, 2015, 3:40 pm by

Now if only I could stop dying on like level 8 of Matlal's Jewels! xD

February 22, 2015, 3:39 pm by

I don't think my score would have been "just updated" though. I've received the prize for being the in top before now, so I'm pretty sure it should already know that I have 139, and for some time now. But I'll keep an eye on it :)

February 22, 2015, 3:38 pm by

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Hm - what&;s the difference between the score list and then the cumulative score list?

One measures total number of wins; the other measures consecutive wins (and is reset to zero if you lose a game).

February 22, 2015, 3:37 pm by

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I just noticed the pumpkin collection one too. I have a complete collection (139 pumpkins) and I&;m not on the list, and I checked my collection again and it still isn&;t showing me there. And I&;m sure there are a ton of people with 139 pumpkins

If you just updated your score - give it an hour or so for the score table to update.

February 22, 2015, 3:36 pm by

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Each game results in a win or a loss; a win adds one point to your cumulative score. You don&;t receive points for how long you play like in Spectrail or Raceway.

Hm - what's the difference between the score list and then the cumulative score list?

February 22, 2015, 3:34 pm by

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Honestly, I am not too familiar with Thimblerig. Is it more like Tiles where you have to build up your score over time? Or is it a typical interactive game like Spectrail or Raceway where you play one game at a time?

Each game results in a win or a loss; a win adds one point to your cumulative score. You don't receive points for how long you play like in Spectrail or Raceway.

February 22, 2015, 3:33 pm by

I just noticed the pumpkin collection one too. I have a complete collection (139 pumpkins) and I'm not on the list, and I checked my collection again and it still isn't showing me there. And I'm sure there are a ton of people with 139 pumpkins

February 22, 2015, 3:31 pm by

Monthly resets? Finally. I was waiting for ages for this change. Now it's possible to get those hiscore achievements, thanks!

February 22, 2015, 3:29 pm by

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Please don&;t make Subeku and Item Scramble have a monthly reset.....already pretty mad that Thimblerig will

February 22, 2015, 3:28 pm by

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I am a bit confused though. I know more people have complete pumpkin and trading card collections than the high score list currently shows. Is there something we need to do to trigger the system to pick up our score?

Yes. Same as always - visit the prize tab on the collection page to update your score

February 22, 2015, 3:27 pm by

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"Wah wah don&;t wanna lose my high score. No one else should be allowed to get those achievements. Wah"
Shut up. This is good.

Sure! Let's also reset people's sP and pet stats every month.

Getting a top-ten cumulative score on a game (I have only one, and I finally got it just this month) represents no less effort and dedication than training a pet or building up an impressive gallery or any of the other worked-for goals on here. , Jessica's desire to have her hard work not go to waste doesn't merit your mocking or your derisive "shut up".

February 22, 2015, 3:21 pm by

February 22, 2015, 3:10 pm by

"Wah wah don't wanna lose my high score. No one else should be allowed to get those achievements. Wah" Shut up. This is good.

February 22, 2015, 3:09 pm by

SCARSDALE, I LOVE YOU.

Still wish we'd get rid of cumulative high scores all together, but this makes me so happy that high score tables are getting some love.

February 22, 2015, 3:05 pm by

Please don't make Subeku and Item Scramble have a monthly reset.....already pretty mad that Thimblerig will

Don't really mind the other changes. But I absolutely do NOT like the stupid monthly resets. Totally against it.

February 22, 2015, 3:02 pm by

Monthly resets might just get me to actually play flash games. Good update to me :)

February 22, 2015, 3:02 pm by

Have one of the top 10 high scores in Spectrail!

:O I see my name in the top 10, is this achievement possible for me to get?

February 22, 2015, 3:02 pm by

new games yay like the sound of this .. thanks for all the hard work . looking forward to it

February 22, 2015, 3:00 pm by

You know.. just because one loses high scores doesn't mean one cannot get them again.

I like this.. I am also curious about the new areas comment...earperk

Thanks for all the hard work, guys.

February 22, 2015, 2:57 pm by

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Aw NOO!!!!!!!! Gonna lose three high scores because of this!!!!!! Another horrible change!!!!!

Which score?

February 22, 2015, 2:57 pm by

"reset on the first of each month..." - much like a certain pet site (NP anyone?) there will now be a mad crush on the servers on the 1st to get the "above average" scores on the tables while any bots or experts just laugh and continue to take the top thirty spots.

I also foresee a "rush" up the collection tables as subetans claw for those more difficult spots, good thing shop prices have risen to 100M.

Use @username to mention someone. Supports markdown formatting.

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High Scores

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