The "first come first serve" policy on new releases seems to have led to "camping" for lack of a better word. Last Tuesday morning, I happen to be up at 2:00am due to jetlag from a recent trip. I decided since I was up to try and add Mass Effect to my queue. I ended up number 47 in line. If I'm not mistaken, games seem to be activated around midnight-ish Pacific time, so that means 46 people added the game between midnight and 2:00am. How is a working, and therefore sleeping, adult supposed to compete with that? :)
I've been trying to think of a good solution, and the only thing I can think of is to allow adding pre-release games and then do a lottery for positions when it is activated. You could prioritize by available points, feedback score, etc., but there are drawbacks to every other system other than "random" that I could think of.
Other than a few minor growing pains, I'm loving Goozex. Keep up the great work!
Thanks!
While I understand that your concerns, it seems Goozex has deemed the queue system in place to be the most effective. I admit, I'm one of those campers. I have trouble sleeping most nights, so I'm usually up when new releases go live, so I can get myself fairly high up on the request list. However, with a rhyme and reason to the system, there's a clear cut answer as how someone ended up in a certain spot. I'm sure there'll be more than one person who ends up complaining that they always get put near the back of the line if Goozex went with the random placement system.
Also you should note that the issue isn't as big as you think- Mass Effect is not a normal scenario. If a game's release date is changed, but Muze, the database provider for Goozex, does not change it in their system, it's possible for a game to be "released" on Goozex before it's actually available. This was the case with Mass Effect, where a prior release on Goozex saw more than 20 people get requests in for it before Muze finally decided to correct the release date.
I think that the system in place works well enough that it should stay the way it is, but that's just my opinion. The Goozex Devs have enough on their plate, that I think something like this can be pushed back a bit on their to-do list. If you really want a certain game, then maybe you could try and stay up just that night to get yourself a good queue spot.
The biggest thing you should keep in mind is that most people end up not having the points, trade credit or available trade slot and will just end up being skipped over in the queue. I sometimes stay up till 1am EST when they go active but not all the time and I can generally get the newer releases within a month or two because I carry a balance of points in my account. So, no matter how long a line is the majority of people generally end up getting skipped.
While I understand that it is frustrating to see 47 turns to go it won’t take that long and Mass Effect will trade frequently due to the lack of online play. Just check out Bioshocks trade stats. Games with online multiplayer generally take a bit longer to start trading.
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I brought up this same idea before, with a randomization of the "pre-release request line." I still think that it will be the best way to do things going forward, since we're seeing a huge increase in the userbase. True, there will be more copies available as more users join the system to compensate, but I think it someday will discourage many people when they come on Tuesday morning to see "You are 1503rd in line."
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I like it the way it is. As I see it, many gamers are going to be up until those late hours, probably past midnight, playing games, especially around this time of year with all the great ones that just came out!
I do some camping to get a good position in the queue, and I am a working Dad with a lot of other responsibilities. I just happen to love my hobby and will go to great lengths to get the most out of it.
I do sympathize with those goozex member who cannot be online when the new released are activiated, but to make the matter a little less frustrating, I can say that I've been very high on the queue often times, and did not have to wait very long at all to recieve the game, simply because of what has been stated earlier, about people in the queue being skipped over because of insufficient points, trade credits, etc. People also see how far back in the queue that are and may delete the game from the queue.
The thing I am really learning most from this great site is patience.
I previously wholeheartedly wanted a lottery system to allocate new releases, as I thought that it would be most fair...plus, I thought that it would create more excitement and fun over the launch of new releases. But from my experience, camping is and has always been a part of the video game industry. So it's all good. Maybe they could implement a lottery for a handful of select releases. Anyhow, as has been stated in previous posts...Mass Effect's delay was one issue in regards to this game specifically. But just as importantly, as stated, the queue while accurate to determine your place in the system does not necessarily mean that one won't jump over 30-40 people because of some inadequacy. I have jumped over 45 people for Bioshock, Halo3 and other highly desired 360 games.
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I respectfully disagree with everyone. :)
The consensus seems to be that it doesn't need to be fixed because some people don't mind camping or that it just comes with the territory and even if you are far back in line, it's okay because you'll probably move to the top quickly if you have points available.
That's fine, BUT...while I may get the game faster than the "turns to go" indicates...I'm still going to have to wait behind the people who camped and have the available points. I am paying ($1.00) for a service and the level of service that I receive should not be dependent on what time I wake up in the morning. That doesn't make sense to me.
I'm not saying it's a huge problem or that it's ruining the system. In fact, it's relatively minor. But I think that it is a problem and should at least be on the radar of the developers.
Bodie:I respectfully disagree with everyone. :)I'm not saying it's a huge problem or that it's ruining the system. In fact, it's relatively minor. But I think that it is a problem and should at least be on the radar of the developers.
Well, you only partially disagree with me.
Yes, but rest assured...they are aware of many users' concerns, with this being one of them. Again, it is just a matter of implementation, finding a "solution", discussing the rammification of any change, etc...the Goozex team will make improvements, and they have made many...but they are cautious and careful to maintain and protect all that is great about the system/service. Again, rest assured that this concern is known.
Assassin's Creed (360):
Available (including On Hold): 25 Ready to Sell: 3
Active Requests: 245 On Hold Requests: 43
I'm sure Goozex is actively tracking how these "top" games do as far as a new user having a realistic chance of receiving them. I'm just showing some of the more obvious evidence that we may have a problem in the future.
But bear in mind that the likelihood that a new user has 1000 points to spare, a trade credit, and an open and available trade slot are very low. Very low.
I still think that a system that dumped everyone who managed to get in early 24 hours before release, then took all new folks who enter in that 24 hours and randomly shuffle them up and then start anyone after that wherever they fall in line would be interesting. So by pre-camping you would be in the top tier, but not necessarily #1
-- Mike Managing Editor - GamerDad Editor - RPGWatch
txa1265: I still think that a system that dumped everyone who managed to get in early 24 hours before release, then took all new folks who enter in that 24 hours and randomly shuffle them up and then start anyone after that wherever they fall in line would be interesting. So by pre-camping you would be in the top tier, but not necessarily #1
I know I'm resurrecting a long dead thread, but I like this idea and came on this morning with the intent of submitting and seeing that it has been discussed last year, maybe its time to think it over again.
Camping vs Randomization will always split the community between those you can camp and those who work on tuesday mornings. txa1265's suggestion seems to be a reasonable compromise.
EclipseNinja: txa1265's suggestion seems to be a reasonable compromise.
txa1265's suggestion seems to be a reasonable compromise.
WooHoo! I rock and I completely forgot! That said, I still agree with myself. In particular with regard to games that get activated acidentally then deactivated. I think that the 'pre-release' status helps that quite a bit. But I would like to see a 24 hour pre-release lottery system. It would be fun and would give folks (unearned) bragging rights ...
I like the 24 hours lottery system. I'm sorry. I can't be up at 1 am.
You can so "most games are up". Says who? I can tell you from my experiece I have found WAY more games on in the early eveninig that late in to the wee hours of the morning.