[FEEDBACK] Christmas Vaulting (Jan 5, 2021)

[LindyLou Who (126352247)]

[LindyLou Who (126352247)]

[Queen Butterfly (11132566)]

So this is all your players get? No time extension for 4 themes This thread is a such a disappointment. You say you hear our feedback yet won't give us an extension for 4 themes.

I also agree with all that Rod and Nightshade had to say.

That being said, I will state my own thoughts. The handling of this is extremely poor and just shows us how very little you care about how we feel. Any other time we've had things go in the vault, we've had (if memory serves) at least 3 weeks or more before that has happened That was only for one or two themes at a time, too. Now, you expect us to be able to buy what we want from four themes in less than 2 weeks? That makes absolutely no sense. On top of it, we just had the holiday season, during which, you should realize, many people spend more. You should also realize that people have had issues playing, logging on or just simply playing at all (mobile players) since the end of flash. This is probably the worst and most poorly timed decision I've ever seen BVG make.


Where are we supposed to store all the stuff just from these 4 themes? Our inventories are already causing major lag. We've asked for years for a solution to that issue and we hear absolutely NOTHING from you to fix that.


This decision has caused me to reevaluate my game play. I don't know, at the moment, how much longer I might play. I play mostly to decorate and dress up. It's actually something that I rarely have time for anymore since the addition of the gem event. While I know I don't have to play it, there are aspects of it that I do like. However, I will probably just stop playing it now and go back to doing the things I do like, which are decorating and dress up. If there are no longer any full themes or plenty of items ( considered full, complete themes NOT in the gem challenge) being added into the store, I will probably stop playing altogether. I know my eyes have been opened to how very little you truly care about your customers.


I may be only one player and I may not spend tons on here, I think your decision is going to alienate a lot of your core players that DO spend a lot. The VERY LEAST you could do is to extend the time for us to purchase items from these themes, like another 2 weeks. You also need to tell us ASAP which items are going into the depot so we don't buy them now and can concentrate on those going away.

[Theresa (122233016)]

So this is all your players get? No time extension for 4 themes This thread is a such a disappointment. You say you hear our feedback yet won't give us an extension for 4 themes.

I also agree with all that Rod and Nightshade had to say.

That being said, I will state my own thoughts. The handling of this is extremely poor and just shows us how very little you care about how we feel. Any other time we've had things go in the vault, we've had (if memory serves) at least 3 weeks or more before that has happened That was only for one or two themes at a time, too. Now, you expect us to be able to buy what we want from four themes in less than 2 weeks? That makes absolutely no sense. On top of it, we just had the holiday season, during which, you should realize, many people spend more. You should also realize that people have had issues playing, logging on or just simply playing at all (mobile players) since the end of flash. This is probably the worst and most poorly timed decision I've ever seen BVG make.


Where are we supposed to store all the stuff just from these 4 themes? Our inventories are already causing major lag. We've asked for years for a solution to that issue and we hear absolutely NOTHING from you to fix that.


This decision has caused me to reevaluate my game play. I don't know, at the moment, how much longer I might play. I play mostly to decorate and dress up. It's actually something that I rarely have time for anymore since the addition of the gem event. While I know I don't have to play it, there are aspects of it that I do like. However, I will probably just stop playing it now and go back to doing the things I do like, which are decorating and dress up. If there are no longer any full themes or plenty of items ( considered full, complete themes NOT in the gem challenge) being added into the store, I will probably stop playing altogether. I know my eyes have been opened to how very little you truly care about your customers.


I may be only one player and I may not spend tons on here, I think your decision is going to alienate a lot of your core players that DO spend a lot. The VERY LEAST you could do is to extend the time for us to purchase items from these themes, like another 2 weeks. You also need to tell us ASAP which items are going into the depot so we don't buy them now and can concentrate on those going away.

i have said on several of the vault threads about that.... we usually get a month for 1 or 2 themes. AND some have been tiny themes with hardly any items. these are 4 HUGE themes with around 400 decor items alone each! it is poorly timed and a crap decision and yes the lag is terrible at the moment. i have tried putting themes in storage rooms but its so time consuming. we need an option to place items in bulk numbers specially when we have to hoard!! and like you i have debated quitting the game. they don't play so don't know how hard things like this are and don't listen when we are all screaming out for things to help. i hate the gem events now cos they take up so much time and no break from them. i know i didn't have to do them but they put whole themes in them. i have quit them now... enough is enough. i am one who spent a lot on this game. i don't pay to play any others and don't go out to pubs or clubs anymore so spend plenty on the game. not any more, i have cut right back now and ignoring new themes apart from the interactives and npcs in the discount or deals. and lastly agree with you.. it would not hurt them to extend the timer... it would give people more of a chance to buy AND YES we need to know the yodepot stuff now before we go buying!!

[Fiore (155677018)]

I haven't been able to log on in days, and this is the first thing I see... How disappointing. Do you really expect players to be able to stock up on 4 big themes in such a short amount of time?

And there are many players (mobile) who haven't been able to log on since the end of Flash. So we're just supposed to miss out..?

[Theresa (122233016)]

I haven't been able to log on in days, and this is the first thing I see... How disappointing. Do you really expect players to be able to stock up on 4 big themes in such a short amount of time?

And there are many players (mobile) who haven't been able to log on since the end of Flash. So we're just supposed to miss out..?

i know it's just impossible. and now i can't load any inventories via the desktop app. ive closed it and refreshed etc. but can't open to decorate, can't open in wardrobe and can't open in the AH. and yes so many players who can't log in since the end of flash. disgusting way to treat their customers

[x JP x (152264913)]

I support staple items staying, but I think this is reaching a bit too far...

[Isla (2518852)]

It's going to take some time for me to filter through it all and create a list for the depot but I will try.

It's very time consuming, stocking up on this stuff and creating lists from 4 themes. I do appreciate that you're asking what we want saved, there is just little time to get all this done and I don't think ya'll are hearing us when we say how time consuming this is. And, now for those of us who really do care, it's adding more time creating the lists.

[Vandal (126579776)]

Thx for the tree sale. I just filled up the truck.

[Toink Toink (117686344)]

Lattes and groceries refill

[Toink Toink (117686344)]

Ahhh when that used to happen to me, had to go into Puffin and unload some into rooms. It could not work in desktop or the other browsers, only the Puffin can. Gave away some too. Thanks to your warning, I better unload some more before buying. Are you able to gift some to others? Does that gifting inventory load? If gifting inventory can load, maybe put some with family.

I haven't been able to log on in days, and this is the first thing I see... How disappointing. Do you really expect players to be able to stock up on 4 big themes in such a short amount of time?

And there are many players (mobile) who haven't been able to log on since the end of Flash. So we're just supposed to miss out..?

i know it's just impossible. and now i can't load any inventories via the desktop app. ive closed it and refreshed etc. but can't open to decorate, can't open in wardrobe and can't open in the AH. and yes so many players who can't log in since the end of flash. disgusting way to treat their customers

[LindyLou Who (126352247)]

I said a girl can dream can't she

I support staple items staying, but I think this is reaching a bit too far...

[Theresa (122233016)]

Ahhh when that used to happen to me, had to go into Puffin and unload some into rooms. It could not work in desktop or the other browsers, only the Puffin can. Gave away some too. Thanks to your warning, I better unload some more before buying. Are you able to gift some to others? Does that gifting inventory load? If gifting inventory can load, maybe put some with family.

I haven't been able to log on in days, and this is the first thing I see... How disappointing. Do you really expect players to be able to stock up on 4 big themes in such a short amount of time?

And there are many players (mobile) who haven't been able to log on since the end of Flash. So we're just supposed to miss out..?

i know it's just impossible. and now i can't load any inventories via the desktop app. ive closed it and refreshed etc. but can't open to decorate, can't open in wardrobe and can't open in the AH. and yes so many players who can't log in since the end of flash. disgusting way to treat their customers

none of the inventories or stores were opening at all. i had to go on streaming just so i could finish going through the vaulting hairs and faces. streaming lags so bad though and the fuzzy on n off does my eyes in. for some reason i am back on desktop app now and all the inventories are loading again. maybe they were working behind the scenes which caused it or maybe they saw my thread and tweaked it but just didn't say anything... who knows lol

[Toink Toink (117686344)]

Glad it works on the desktop app. Streaming is just terrible.

[Sealine (105788113)]

So, understanding this correctly, those 4 themes (Family Christmas, Victorian Christmas, Home for the holidays and Whimsical Yuletown are still entering the vault in 12 days from now?
As for feedback: 14 days is too little time for 4 themes at once. 2 themes in 14 days would be more reasonable.
At this exact point with many players either unable to log into the game at all or experiencing more lag than usually I wish the vaulting could be postponed until the game runs properly with HTML5.
Furthermore I would like the items that will be moved into the Yodepot to be announced very early on, so that I can skip them in my stocking up process. Many players have large inventories, me included, and don't want to wait until last moment to start shopping, not knowing which items can be skipped because they will still be available in the Yodepot.

Agree 100% with what Mizz Libra said, especially the bolded part!

[CosmoZory (182292488)]

I hate vaulting. It's very time consuming and ...

[Roman (175237125)]

The question that comes with vaulting is simply this - Why?

If there is a technical limit on what the store can hold, then that is a good enough reason. Simply state that as a fact and be done with all the second guessing. But that has not been stated and nor will it, because we all know the store can hold infinite themes. Next answer.........

You guys enjoy the revenue pop. These have always driven a spike in revenue for Zynga and for you. These stagnant themes suddenly become very popular as panicked decorators race to save what they love, and the few resellers that still try to resell buy up stock for future gouging. There's no shame in admitting this. Simply call them business decisions and be done with it.

The rub comes when you move too quickly or inconsistently. It sounds like you are about to become more consistent in retiring themes. Good business decision. It hurts your decorators, helps the few remaining resellers, but pumps up your revenue. And it stirs the pot of interest around the chosen theme. We've got around 2.5 years of themes in the store based on my rough estimate. That's about 65 themes. You guys need to pick a range for theme counts and keep the active number within that range. I'd suggest that your top 20 best sellers over the last 18 months never get chosen for removal. You need to pick themes to vault from your bottom 20. We also need lead time for vaulting. 2 weeks notice isn't enough when you've got 4 themes going out at once. Some players don't have the money they'd like to spend and they suddenly feel very gouged. That ain't right. And you need to start a constant movement of vaulted items into the YoDepot. This is a messy process, but every theme has a few staples that transcend the theme. Doing this is the price you pay to give the olive branch to your decorators. And hey, make sure you publish the list of items you are going to vault BEFORE you finish the vaulting period. Decorators can focus their resources on the stuff they will actually be losing rather than the stuff that will still be there. It's not ethical to announce a vault, allow them to buy dozens of something, and then put that item in the YoDepot. At the very least you should refund their purchases if this happens.

Yeah it's a lot, so here is the TLDR list -

1. Be honest about why themes are vaulted.
2. Be consistent in the timing of vaulting.
3. Have a plan for picking themes to vault.
4. Don't vault more than one at a time.
5. Have a consistent process for selecting items for the YoDepot.
6. Announce YoDepot items quickly and never after the vaulting is complete.
7. Treat your decorators like core customers. They are.

Yes to all of this!

[Isla (2518852)]

Phew okay I have made lists for you. I tried to keep it to the bare bones. Please also note I'm only taking screen shots of 1 of the group, so please include the small, medium large and version 1,2,3, etc of each item. It was easier to not list the variations for each item.

FC2018:
- draped tinsel
- snowy pine trees
- garland columns
- frosted barren trees
- peeping grass snow patches
- snow mounts
- winter windows
- animated fiber optic Christmas tree
\- Interactive Living room tree
- Festive garlands
- lit shrubs
- Wainscoting tiles



XM2019 WY2019:

- twisty icicles
- shoveled paths
- kooky snow slopes
- glowing candy canes
- sittable sleds
- wacky snow mounds
- snow covered tress
- snow covered bushes
- ice patches



HH 2019:

- snow covered bushes
- festive fences
- festive gate
- snow covered trees (priority item!!!)
- festive windows
- snowy fence
- snowy grass patches
- pile of presents
- hanging Christmas streamers



VC 2018:

- Animated steam effect
- stone steps
- wild reindeer
- snow holly bushes (priority items!)
- cobblestone paths
- tree garlands
- animated blowing snow
- snow covered hedges



Can you please give us a heads up as to what's going into the Depot?

[Tansy Anne (187669609)]

Could you please ask the content staff and artists to please make next year's Christmas items very pretty and bright and Christmas-y (red and green with Santa and elves and candy canes and such). Because we aren't going to have anything like that left,

[LindyLou Who (126352247)]

Thank you guy's for extending it. It's greatly appreciated