Elements the Game Forum - Free Online Fantasy Card Game
News and Announcements => Patch Notes and Development News => Topic started by: zanzarino on August 06, 2010, 01:30:02 am
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If you have a redeemable code it will expire the very moment you press the "validate" button.
At that point your client got the "ok" to give you your reward and the code is marked as "used by X".
If you decide for whatever reason NOT to choose your reward at that point and close your browser's window your code will be lost - forever.
FAQ:
Q - That was when my cat jumped on my keyboard selecting a grey nymph when I clearly wanted a purple one.
A - Enjoy your grey nymph
Q - I was jumping around filled with uncontainable joy and I tripped on the cord and unplugged the water cooling system of my extremely overclocked CPU. My CPU exploded.
A - Code is gone. Forever.
Q - I was about to click on my reward when my wireless, laser, atomic clock controlled, mouse ran out of battery.
A - Code gone.
Q - Could you please just check my account history and find evidence that, in fact, I did not eventually get my reward?
A - I could, but it would take me 20 minutes... That means I am not going to do it.
Q - But...
A - No.
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This is the funniest thing I've read in long time. Thank you for making my day. :D
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lolol this is great. :))
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Q - But...
A - No.
:))
Seriously though, I feel really sorry if anyone has gotten a code and had something stupid happen and not get to use it.
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LOL.
But I remember someone saying that he clicked "Menu" when he got his first Nymph from the Oracle...
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LOL.
But I remember someone saying that he clicked "Menu" when he got his first Nymph from the Oracle...
Yeah me too, in the one fail thread. I think it was someone on team death, for some reason.
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LOL.
But I remember someone saying that he clicked "Menu" when he got his first Nymph from the Oracle...
Yeah me too, in the one fail thread. I think it was someone on team death, for some reason.
Malduk :P
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A - Enjoy your grey nymph
LMAO... that's some funny stuff...
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Hahaha i lol'd when i read this. It's funnier because my shard code for the league "broke" but i didn't bother complaining because i knew this would happen. And then this thread popped up! =D
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Ya when I used my codes I was thinking, "Man, I hope my internet doesn't crap out on me..." So the timing of this thread is kinda humorous.
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Ya when I used my codes I was thinking, "Man, I hope my internet doesn't crap out on me..." So the timing of this thread is kinda humorous.
I'm sure this thread and the fact that about 20 codes were just given out for the league is no coincidence
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Wow. This only increases my respect for Zanz (which was obviously quite high already).
Is english your/his second language? Because, wow. This is written well, as a small witty little dialogue, I could imagine in a movie :D
And of course, LOL.
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who knew zanz had a sense of humor but i love it thnx zanz
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LOL.
But I remember someone saying that he clicked "Menu" when he got his first Nymph from the Oracle...
I actually sold my first Nymph by mistake... :D
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The solution!!
If you don´t wanna miss any code, don´t win any event.
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LOL.
But I remember someone saying that he clicked "Menu" when he got his first Nymph from the Oracle...
I actually sold my first Nymph by mistake... :D
me too, :earth nymph, but i still pretend i have her when i'm saying how many nymphs i have =)
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LOL.
But I remember someone saying that he clicked "Menu" when he got his first Nymph from the Oracle...
I actually sold my first Nymph by mistake... :D
me too, :earth nymph, but i still pretend i have her when i'm saying how many nymphs i have =)
First stage of depression: Denial.
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LOL.
But I remember someone saying that he clicked "Menu" when he got his first Nymph from the Oracle...
I actually sold my first Nymph by mistake... :D
me too, :earth nymph, but i still pretend i have her when i'm saying how many nymphs i have =)
First stage of depression: Denial.
That made me chuckle...
I wonder how many people have sold nymphs and are misreporting it on the poll... :) Doesn't really matter though, cause I was just trying to get a sense of how often people were winning them...
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On my two accounts, I sold three Nymphs: :time :aether :entropy. The Time and Aether ones I considered useless, and for the Entropy one... I didn't need two Purple Nymphs, and I kinda needed the cash...
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To be honest, I don't find this FAQ funny. I know it might be a reasonable decision for Zanz, as it spares him time, but on the other hand I see the point of view of a person with a poor Internet connection or a browser that likes to hang. It happened to me once that my flash player decided to hang after my visit to Oracle (though I've won nothing then), and I don't think anyone should be penalized for having unstable Internet connection either.
And I don't know if it could be done better from programmers point of view, because I don't know if communicating to the server after the reward is chosen causes any security risks (if it could be abused in any form), but if it doesn't then I guess that would be a better solution.
That said, if there are indeed any good reasons for such a choice (eg. Zanz saving 20 minutes of his life) it's worth it.
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And I don't know if it could be done better from programmers point of view, because I don't know if communicating to the server after the reward is chosen causes any security risks (if it could be abused in any form), but if it doesn't then I guess that would be a better solution.
If the code would not expire when you hit the "validate" button and BEFORE you can pick your reward you could exploit the system in many many ways.
Example: open multiple accounts, validate the same code at the same time on all of them, get multiple rewards from the same code. etc. etc.
That said, if there are indeed any good reasons for such a choice (eg. Zanz saving 20 minutes of his life) it's worth it.
There are thousands of online games out there, I can not even begin to explain how honored I feel when someone decides to pick my game out of such a huge pool of choices: 20 minutes is nothing, I often spend 8 hours non-stop working on elements when I am in the right mood. But you are missing the main point here, you are thinking about a 1:1 developer:player ratio. If every player today had an issue that required my attention for 20 minutes it would take me about 4,000,000 minutes to fix the issue for every single player (4,000,000 minutes means 7.6 years).
You are about to say "yes but the codes are 4 per tournament, not 200,000". The answer is: "it does not matter", why should I give a special treatment for player X because he won a tournament and ignore player Y that is having a problem with a ban or player W that lost the connection while getting his oracle's reward.
Also, poor internet connections will always put an online player at disadvantage, that started when Adam was about to lose a "tic tac toe online" game against Eve and turned off his modem. Since that day, your connection goes bad = you lose.
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I'll try to use [sarcasm] and [don't consider it too serious] tags more often.
Well, maybe my style is not obvious enough, but when I write something like my post above it is usually half-serious half-for-the-lulz.
So yeah, I totally agree that you should not spend 20 minutes per player to solve such issues, no matter if it's 1 player or 1000000 players. And I understand the 1:n relation of developers to players. In fact I'm quite infuriated when eg. an academic teacher writing a test that will be solved by thousands of students does not spend 1 minute to check his work for mistakes thus wasting thousands of minutes for the students.
As for the validation before and after, I'm just interested if validating both before and after would solve anything, but once again, my post was not totally serious, and I know that if you decide to do so, then you probably have your reasons and you know better what you are doing.
As for the Adam and Eve, there are better solutions, but indeed more complex than the 'disconnect = you lose' one and sometimes simplicity is better. Sometimes not.
And please, don't assume what I'm thinking or what I am about to say. It's impolite and I guess most people consider it a bit offensive and should be avoided even when joking.
Xinef ^_^
EDIT:
As for the validation before and after, I was thinking about a system that communicates to the system before, so that the system knows the account that is about to use the code so that it will not allow any other account to use the code. Then after the reward is chosen it communicates which reward is chosen so the server can easily keep track of the number of 'before validations' and 'after validations'. If your computer broke in between these phases you simply log in once again to your account, use the same code (it's still valid because the reward has not been given, but it's already limited to your account) and then you can choose the reward and finish the process. Thus using multiple accounts could not be abused, but I'm not sure if it leaves other forms of abuse possible... quite likely, I'm not an expert.
Hmm... other solution would be to validate the code not after you write it in, but after you choose the reward... probably something is wrong with this one too, maybe gold is given before the nymph is chosen, that would break the whole thing...
oh, I guess I'm just thinking too much.
[/end of Xinef-specific-similar-to-sarcasm-thingy]
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Q: I made a thread on the forum AFTER redeeming it, asking what to choose, going for breakfast. In the meanwhile Java crashed, and terminated game. Had to refresh, re-tried code, "Code invalid" /FML. (True story)
A: Since your the first, and this is ALOT of hard work for me, HOWEVER, since you are the first one retarded enough not to choose his reward at once, I will be nice, but just this once! Ill also make a long post on the forums, explaining that people should use their codes and just pick something right away. Everyone knows that you all wants mark of :fire cards =)
____________________________________
Or maybe Zanz knew my birthday is tomorrow :D
Also, that brings me to 2 firemarks, gogo
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You learn best from your own mistakes. After accidentally selling my 6 morning glories and miracles, I've been very quick to press Control+W or Alt+F4 or F5 as soon as I suspect I might have accidentally sold something. Had I merely read it somewhere, I wouldn't have that anxiety of remembering scrolling through all my wonderful rares and then having an empty screen upon clicking "light" D:
and yes, zanz is teh lulz.
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Zanz you make me :)) :))
+1 post
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A - Enjoy your grey nymph
LMAO... that's some funny stuff...
That's one [PROFANITY]ing worth a LOL
WARNING: THIS MAY LEAD TO HALFHUMAN-HALFCARD, BEWARE OF THAT
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*applause*
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*applause*
applause X2
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*applause*
applause X2
aupplause x999999
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*applause*
applause X2
aupplause x999999
it's OVER 9000!!!!!
well, OVER 999000!!!!
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Do we need more then 9000 anyway?
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Do we need more then 9000 anyway?
yes we need more then 9000 ;D
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Okay i dont know how i make a new topic, so i start it here..
I am banned at elements, because my brother was playing on my account or the same IP adres. He was cheating and now i cant play anymore on my account.. :( can anyone unbanned me ??
Please thank you
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Okay i dont know how i make a new topic, so i start it here..
I am banned at elements, because my brother was playing on my account or the same IP adres. He was cheating and now i cant play anymore on my account.. :( can anyone unbanned me ??
Please thank you
1. you shouldn't post here
2. cheating really happened in your account
3. nobody actually hack your account
so enjoy your new account just like people enjoy their grey nymph
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Okay i dont know how i make a new topic, so i start it here..
I am banned at elements, because my brother was playing on my account or the same IP adres. He was cheating and now i cant play anymore on my account.. :( can anyone unbanned me ??
Please thank you
1. you shouldn't post here
2. cheating really happened in your account
3. nobody actually hack your account
so enjoy your new account just like people enjoy their grey nymph
lol, loved it when zanz said that XD
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LOL.
But I remember someone saying that he clicked "Menu" when he got his first Nymph from the Oracle...
I'm mad at myself because I did that when I got my second purple nymph which I was really looking forward to for my totaly unuped fg hunting deck. I only have 1 and I really need 3.
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You made me smile. Thanks.
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wats a redeem code?
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wats a redeem code?
A redeem code, which can be obtained by winning various PVP events or by donating money, is a special series of numbers that, when used by the owner, give somebody rare cards, unique card art, or Electrum. They can only be used once.
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this thread is awesome it should totally be in the humor section :P
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Factual yet entertaining. Good for a quick LOL.
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+2 points to my night for the quick laughs here. Well done. Everyone loves information disguised as humor. ^_^
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Note to self:
If I ever get another reward code, only use it in computer with good internet!
Realy funny post from Zanz ;D
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If you look very closely between the lines of humor you can barely make out the passive-aggressive cover that's concealing the vast well of seething frustration filled with all the help requests Zanz has ever gotten...
This would actually be a great disclaimer to attach to the actual thing. That's as good as saying "the developer is not responsible for general stupidity, bad luck, freak accidents, or cats in the 3 second time period between clicking this and this."
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As for the validation before and after, I was thinking about a system that communicates to the system before, so that the system knows the account that is about to use the code so that it will not allow any other account to use the code. Then after the reward is chosen it communicates which reward is chosen so the server can easily keep track of the number of 'before validations' and 'after validations'. If your computer broke in between these phases you simply log in once again to your account, use the same code (it's still valid because the reward has not been given, but it's already limited to your account) and then you can choose the reward and finish the process. Thus using multiple accounts could not be abused, but I'm not sure if it leaves other forms of abuse possible... quite likely, I'm not an expert.
Hmm... other solution would be to validate the code not after you write it in, but after you choose the reward... probably something is wrong with this one too, maybe gold is given before the nymph is chosen, that would break the whole thing...
oh, I guess I'm just thinking too much.
[/end of Xinef-specific-similar-to-sarcasm-thingy]
Or, a really easy way to do it, would be prompting the user again if they have not claimed their reward from said giftcode/oracle, after logging back in.
This is the ONLY game I have ever seen with this problem.
But I guess I shouldn't expect anything beyond effort for this game.
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As for the validation before and after, I was thinking about a system that communicates to the system before, so that the system knows the account that is about to use the code so that it will not allow any other account to use the code. Then after the reward is chosen it communicates which reward is chosen so the server can easily keep track of the number of 'before validations' and 'after validations'. If your computer broke in between these phases you simply log in once again to your account, use the same code (it's still valid because the reward has not been given, but it's already limited to your account) and then you can choose the reward and finish the process. Thus using multiple accounts could not be abused, but I'm not sure if it leaves other forms of abuse possible... quite likely, I'm not an expert.
Hmm... other solution would be to validate the code not after you write it in, but after you choose the reward... probably something is wrong with this one too, maybe gold is given before the nymph is chosen, that would break the whole thing...
oh, I guess I'm just thinking too much.
[/end of Xinef-specific-similar-to-sarcasm-thingy]
Q - Could you please just check my account history and find evidence that, in fact, I did not eventually get my reward?
A - I could, but it would take me 20 minutes... That means I am not going to do it.
Q - But...
A - No.
I guess the answer is pretty clear.
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Q - Could you please just check my account history and find evidence that, in fact, I did not eventually get my reward?
A - I could, but it would take me 20 minutes... That means I am not going to do it.
Q - But...
A - No.
I guess the answer is pretty clear.
You misunderstood his post.
He was suggesting an automated solution, as every single other game in existence has done.
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You misunderstood his post.
He was suggesting an automated solution, as every single other game in existence has done.
Not exactly "every single other game in existence", since only a small fraction of games in existence actually have redeemable codes, and still not every one of them has the problem solved optimally.
Yes, it's true I was suggesting an automated solution, but it's important to note that actually adding an automated solution to an existing system does require some work, so Zanzarino's point still stands in a way. That's why I was simply suggesting some solutions, rather than complaining or making demands or something.
And quite importantly - you do realize you're quoting three year old posts? I'm not totally against necroposting, but only if you've got very good reasons to do so. I see you did make a suggestion:
a really easy way to do it, would be prompting the user again if they have not claimed their reward from said giftcode/oracle, after logging back in.
but this isn't really a solution to the problem - it's just one obvious part of it. It's just a description of what should happen on the user's side. The important question is what should happen on the server's side to prevent abuse, and how should the server communicate with the client, when you assume that communication can be faulty (there's a chance of messages not reaching their target or reaching it in the wrong order etc.)
So, in my opinion your suggestion wasn't good enough to justify a three year old necropost. Unless I misunderstood your suggestion and you actually have an idea how it should work on the server side, and how to easily implement this, in which case I'm sorry for doubting you ;)
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Even though I'm necroing (two months), I think that if a valid and easy to implement way to make this work a little better is proposed while Zanzarino is working on 1.4, he may as well implement it (MAY, mind you).
Said that, the easiest and surest way to do that would probably be:
Insert Redeem code (no check whether it is correct or not), choose your Nymph/Mark, validate it (now the game checks whether the code exists and it is unused, if both the conditions are fulfilled, you get your card).
I don't see any way to exploit this, aside from obvious hacking which could hit everything, really.
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Even though I'm necroing (two months), I think that if a valid and easy to implement way to make this work a little better is proposed while Zanzarino is working on 1.4, he may as well implement it (MAY, mind you).
Said that, the easiest and surest way to do that would probably be:
Insert Redeem code (no check whether it is correct or not), choose your Nymph/Mark, validate it (now the game checks whether the code exists and it is unused, if both the conditions are fulfilled, you get your card).
I don't see any way to exploit this, aside from obvious hacking which could hit everything, really.
You forget that there are codes for electrum as well so you have to check if it is correct or not, no?
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Even though I'm necroing (two months), I think that if a valid and easy to implement way to make this work a little better is proposed while Zanzarino is working on 1.4, he may as well implement it (MAY, mind you).
Said that, the easiest and surest way to do that would probably be:
Insert Redeem code (no check whether it is correct or not), choose your Nymph/Mark, validate it (now the game checks whether the code exists and it is unused, if both the conditions are fulfilled, you get your card).
I don't see any way to exploit this, aside from obvious hacking which could hit everything, really.
You forget that there are codes for electrum as well so you have to check if it is correct or not, no?
Forgot to name them, but it would work the same way. Let's call what you get "reward". Redeeming a code will be made of 3 parts:
1.Insert Code;
2.Choose Reward (never seen an electrum code in first person, so I don't know if it has you to click ok somewhere);
3.Game checks and uses-up your code.
If the game doesn't ask you to confirm after you entered the code for Electrums, it'll just skip point 2.
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For electrum codes all you do is insert the code and press redeem at the bottom.
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In the end it'd be:
1.Check what the code gives you, if it's an electrum code, jump to point 3;
2.Choose your reward;
3.Check if the code is still valid and use it up if it is. You get your reward now.
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Sounds easy enough. I like it. :)
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LOL I don't have a cat so I don't know if this is even possible
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just kill me. megaderp :'(