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I will turn this car around right now......
Lots of threads, no time to read them all? Here is today's MouseHunt news, highlights, and gossip! Read on:
Section 1

DISCUSSION BOARDS IGNITE IN FIRE
Thousands protest in any and all sections demanding their way.
I'm just not sure which way that is......

Upcoming Change to Balack's Cove
Posted by Dave Vanderburg on Monday, May 24, 2010
We always endeavor to include the feedback of players when deciding on adding to, or modifying existing features. Based on a Friday feedback session we decided to try this approach with the release of new content as well.

Since the release of Balack’s Cove, we have been listening carefully to constructive criticism from the MouseHunt community, trying to gauge if there are any elements that we might need to tweak in order to make the game more fun and challenging. In addition to reading feedback we have been carefully analyzing how players have been tackling the new content. Looking at things such as how quickly they can acquire resources, catch mice, earn points/gold, etc.

We've decided, with the help of the MouseHunt community, to raise the amount of Vanilla Bean needed to craft Vanilla Stilton when using magic essence from one to five. We think that this tweak will make crafting Vanilla Stilton more challenging, and thus make the end result more satisfying to the majority of MouseHunt players. Although this may not be a welcome change for some players, we made the decision with the help of the community, and we feel that it will be beneficial to the majority of players.

This change will come into effect Tuesday, May 25. If you're concerned about a specific time, we will be putting a warning message at the top of the game at least one hour before making the change.

We are still gauging whether or not releasing content earlier than usual and using feedback from players to help put the final adjustments and finishing touches on areas is a useful exercise. We welcome players to discuss this matter in a constructive way via the discussion boards. The passion of hunters is what helps ensure everything about MouseHunt is as fun as possible!
Thanks for playing, and good luck on the hunt!
The hot topic of the day and appropriately named: The ME Recipe
In recent days before the release of Balack and the new area designed for higher levels, there was discussion based on that area. Discussions began in the FBF prior and then spread in various threads, (you know the ones where people jump in annoyed about the fact that it's a repeat of a dozen other threads just below the box).
Let's see the timetable:
Actually...let's not. I have no intention of taking the complete babble I've collected throughout the day and then research the timelines for when who said what and when the FBF said Balack and the DB said White and then the Beatles sold another chunk of their souls to a video game.

PS- That "complete babble" is actually what's being filtered through my head at reading so many posts on the subject. The content and items discussed, for the most part, all seemed reasonable, expressed intelligently, heated and opinionated, but not babble in regards to the OP or content.
Where does it end? This is oddly reminiscent of that time at band camp when I lost my meds and someone had nerf football. Must, have, meds...now......

Help me wrap my head around this....
So the original recipe w/ 11 herbs and..wait..oops. I mean 15 Vanilla beans created 15 cheese. The other recipe substituted the 15 beans for 15 ME but needed one more ingredient of a single bean to craft. The current price of SB is roughly 4000 pp. That means for a recipe w/ ME, you forgo hunting the Pygmies at a cost of 60,000 gold or $1.00 US dollar if you donate.

Roughly, I have averaged about 45 beans per log hunting pygmies which would imply about (let's go low) 12 in 12 hours. One per hour seem fair? That means that in a log, you should be able to craft approx. 30 VS. That seems really good compared to hunting for the shell/stones/veg to make chz top make chz to make chz....whew. Even without donating, sitting in the JoD is looking for more profitable overall than sitting in the Isles. Some call it boring, I on the other hand find it refreshingly simple. Sit, collect good pts and beans on a consistent basis. No thinking.

That's without using SB. In the process of hunting for these Pygmy, I am maintaining an easy 300 to 400k in pts per log. I am using gouda all the way. Erg. Where are the statistic people when you need them?

Some might argue that the devs only listened to the biggest whiners or didn't listen to some but did to others and then others that felt like they weren't represented. Some people have amassed loads of VS during the small amount of time this recipe has been available. Some haven't even gotten to the Isles yet. some people haven't even played MH and will never know of the 1:15 crisis of '10.

Did someone say tiger chest keys or something like that? Or something about the Acolyte dropping loot after the fact people already caught it and now have to catch it again? Does anyone else feel deja vu?
I have come a to a conclusion.
This argument is highly debatable. This debate has merit from all angles. There will be only one outcome and the devs will decide. They owe us no reason, we choose to play, to not play, to lurk or donate or whine or help. We choose.

The only thing I have really seen that seems to be the most common theme, is that the players feel as if they weren't heard or listened to. So I'd like to give some edited clips from one of the more heated discussions to help some that didn't have the time to read the whole thread and others that want to share their perspective. Please do not flame any of these people as all of them have a right to their thoughts. These are highly edited for space and my apologies if editing my alter the original content. Feel free to see the entire thread here.
And then there's this one I also found very enlightening and full of good stuff. And this one I found while sifting through the debris.
This is a very small sampling but has a wide array of ideas, opinions and thoughts which others may or may not agree with.

Quotes of the Day
Ben Jaworski "Save the cheese, don't use it until he has Loot." (Balack)

Dan Hance "its not fair on the people that havent had a chance to craft VS yet with 1 vanilla bean, and now its being upped. those who are higher in the ranks are at an advantage."

Barry Holderread "In addition to using the 15 ME (SB+) to craft vanilla stilton, the donor/players will have to use 5x more SB+ while collecting vanilla beans...."

Dean C. Hines "Short Answers Directly Aimed At Devs (longer explanations below).
1) Should content be released early and tweaked? YES
2) Is this recipe tweak a good idea? YES
3) Will supposedly mature humans complain no matter what you do? YES
CONCLUSION: This is a great game, and the devs are doing the right thing.
PS - I love the fact that I get washed out of the cove! Nice touch."

John Wilson 1. I'm perfectly happy waiting on Longtail until it's fully baked.
2. Saying that devs asked "us" if we wanted early release with tweaks is a bit disingenuous. I wasn't asked, and as far as I can tell the only people who were asked were those who were able to participate in Feedback Friday, which is an extremely small sample size of the MH community. I'm disturbed, however, at the recent trend of tweaking the game to appease the most vociferous complainers rather than to maintain balance"

Rose Mary Woods "There's been a lot of speculation that the devs are doing this to raise revenue via donations. Honestly, those who want to craft using 15 sb per batch still will, but they will do it more slowly, using less sb overall, due to the need for extra seeds. I have yet to encounter another fb game where the devs engage so much with the community, and act on the feedback received. They also leave the option to play without donating, without seriously impeding game play, unlike many other apps.
It is reasonable that donators get something back, but personally I think that the new recipe is more balanced and fairer all round."

Chris James "I support both the change and the play-testing method used to assess whether or not the update is balanced."

Oliver Boulton-Lear "A perfectly predictable move. Over time, donations will rise due to the increased need for SB+. In the short term, HitGrab will see a monumental increase in donation as people craft more VVS before the change. Quite an elegant manouvre, though utterly transparent and not designed to be of any benefit to the players."

Josh Kanehen "As a person on the fence, I like the change. VBs are easy enough to farm, even with Gouda and getting a few more isn't a big deal. Considering one drop equals three cheese (compared to 3 drops for 2 cheese in Elub/Nerg/Derr), it'll still go pretty quick. While SB users will still be able to accelerate past non-SB users (as always), the difference between the two groups isn't quite the upper/lower class distinction that seemed to be forming with the old recipe."

Kathryn Cheshire "Time and time again, the older players slog through an area only to find that down the track its dumbed-down for newer players. Its made easier and some of the challenge is lost.
Dojo - maki
Cats/FG - ancient potions
AR - runic potions
TI - adding magic essence to the crafted cheese to increase yield
ITS NOT FAIR! Its a real slap in the face to players who have put in a lot of time and sb+ (usually from donations) to these areas. The changes are good and there is benefit to all players - but its just not fair to introduce those changes later down the track."

Julie Harrison "I feel so frustrated that I'm getting really angry and I don't want to!!!
There is so much more than this that needs to be said to the devs from people who genuinely care about helping them with sensible ideas and feedback!! But are they bothered enough to want it??"

Templar Mike James "It's quite possible they will decide to up and quit after looking at the community. I tend to see little praise and lots of whining about every little thing for the past while, and they may decide its no longer worth their effort to maintain a game who's sole purpose was to (A) get their company off the ground, which has been completed, and (B) have fun with people, which seems to be less and less common nowadays. Could be that Longtail may be the most awaited, and final, update"

Patricia Hendrix Brown "It's not about the cheese---they could just as easily change it so it meets in the middle. It's about (what feels like) the constant catering to a few loud voices. Why not listen to both sides and try to even things out? Not everyone can join in for FBF; a simple, clear voting chance would be nice. Then, no matter what they do, at least we all feel that we have had a chance to speak through our votes"

Gabriel Nilsson "People are way too involved in this game if any decision made by the devs makes you upset. From a balance point of view, it makes sense to nerf the SB+ to VS ratio, which was way less challenging than the regular recipe, but I don't really care enough to make a fuss about it, and can take it or leave it. Modifying one variable of the game is hardly reason to question the devs judgement. Consider the current exchange rate an opening bonus, and accept whatever the devs decide to do - it is their game."

Dean Fell "On the point of making earlier parts of the game easier as time goes by, I can understand why, if new content is getting released, it would take newcomers an insane amount of time to get to experience it, and the gap between the new and the experienced would never narrow. It shouldn't close, obviously, but there's nothing to aspire to in a competitive sense if people who've been playing longer are already 10 steps ahead. There's always LE traps as rewards for long time users."

Jared May "If I'd had the opportunity to vote on that, this wouldn't bug me nearly as much.Maybe give a link that allows people to read an opinion in favor of all available options, then let folks vote. It's easy to say that it's the devs' game, but that's not realistic. It was the devs' game until they released it to the public and asked for donations. Now it belongs to all of us."

David Maerz "The 1 Vanilla bean for 15 VS recipe is undeniably skewed towards ME, much more than any other recipe or potion conversion in the game is. It is skewed to the point that donating is basically paying for points because of how high yield the new zone is. I have been casually getting logs in Balack's Cove that are logs I would expect to see after doing a full run with Pungent Havarti or the like, runs which take a lot more work (easily a week's worth) to get there instead of catching 10-15 Pigmy mice (in a matter of hours) and burning some SB+ to net 1 million+ point logs. I agree that it should be changed"

John Wilson "I'm a Baron. I've been waiting just as long as everyone else. And I'd still rather the devs release content only after thorough testing rather than tweak it "in the field". You may disagree, as is your right. I do not claim to speak for the majority. Recent events have proven beyond doubt that I am not a member of the majority. Nor am I, as recently defined by the devs in the new update, a member of the Community"

Patricia Hendrix Brown " I play this game in part---a large part---because I really love the people here. It is painful to see the stress and anger over the whole thing. It's about people and their feelings! So it would be nice if the Devs would just set it to a vote and we accept their decision after we've voted and we move on and have some FUN!"

Dean Fell "The best thing the devs can do is stick by their decision. They've decided they made a mistake with the initial ratio, and they should implement their new one. They said tweaking might happen"

Glyn Williams " to change again would mean them losing control of there game as one side would always be unhappy which would lead to petitions which players would feel fully justifeid that they could control the game becuase they caved befoe so y wont they cave again attitude"

Julie Harrison "Can't we all just understand how each other might be feeling? Like the donators are upset at the thought of the devs pandering to whiners and are willing to take away what they first intended to give. No matter how much or how little the negative feedback went towards their decision to change things, its the zero thought about how donators would feel that hurts. From the non-donators point of view it can seem like the donators are saying that they should be MH VIPs and are fighting their corner which is causing a big argument between both sides."

Michael Gourley "2 sides? ME vs non-ME users? No such thing. False polarization is just one effect of shoddy polling and and unchecked group mentality. This, of all the board circuses I've seen, is perhaps the most bizarre (ok, maybe nerf-fest was weirder). A shark jumping experience for sure."

Chi Yu Tse "I think the devs need to be more careful with future updates. This is not the first time that "tweaks" have to be implemented that could have caused distress among the players. 1. The Heart of Tiger Party which one of the mice drops all three masks in the initial release. 2. The Terrible Twos which drop the Birthday Cake Base instead of the Chocolate Birthday Cake Base for a brief moment after the update. 3.The Valentine Note incident. And now the unprecedented 1:15 ratio."

Deanna L. Dowdy "It would be nearly impossible to get a statistically valid survey on the forums. But that does NOT mean that the information gathered here on the forums should be ignored. It is still valid information--even though we cannot use it to draw statistical inferences from.
However--we should NOT let this distract us from the fact that the thread does show the interests and opinions of the community--and in that regard it is highly interesting and valuable."

Bernard Lau "IF HitGrab were really so concerned about balance, they could've done a different alternative, instead of bringing down the 15:1 recipe. And that is to equal the opening and closing times of the cove with JoD. By extending the time substantially for the Cove to remain close, everyone would have no choice but to divert their attention back to farming Beans. This would easily balance up the game for donating and non-donating scoreboard chasers despite a high conversion rate of 15:1. Limiting the amount of time in a high point area neutralizes the effect of a high VS ratio."

Matt Tank "There is no more content after Balack's cove. Whether you're collecting 1 bean, 3 or 15, you're still pretty much stuck travelling between those two areas if you want to maximise your points. Are the people who collect 15 beans going to be any more bored than those who collect 1?"

Lila Tournay "How about keeping both recipes the way they are now and let people make their own ratio? If you craft 1 ME and 1 non-ME, you'll get a half and half recipe and so forth. Let people come up with whatever ratio they are comfortable with by using both recipes, since the two seem to be at the opposite end of the spectrum."

Mike Goldsworthy "Ultimately, I am sad to see such threads showing such degrees of anger as this one has as I feel it will put pressure on the Devs to limit their feedback to the community (if people know they won't get answers then they will be less likely to voice their questions)."

Rick Brookins : "When did this become a republic/democracy instead of a game. Vote, I think not. Every time the developers wanted to change, release, or do anything in the game they would have to take a vote. How long do you allow the voting to go on, then how long do you take to count the votes. When a vote dose not go a groups way, do we have a re vote. I can see it now, threads in the forum for and against votes. Were going to have people campaigning, grand speeches will be made and in the end, people will still be made because they lost and feelings will still be hurt."

John-Marc Quilter "This does smack of a ploy to create a spike in demand for SB resulting in more contributions - I honestly don't think HG is that conniving. People (contributors and non-contributors alike) are converting SB into VS as fast as they can. It will be interesting to see if VS will be smash-able back into ME. I suspect that is a change that will not be implemented.

It is interesting that perceived advantages given to contributors and top players are attacked so vehemently, but advantages given to newer players are accepted by the same people with nary a peep. I don't recall outrage over the ease with which players collected Ancient potions - how many of you have converted stale into ancient? How many players have had to go through Furoma with the ZLM? How many posts are there on the boards about players desperate to collect scrap? - (this was the most popular post for ages!) Now scrap rains from the sky. How many people have used THOUSANDS of runic without an acolyte?"

Phillip Mark Bygrave " I love the early release...I enjoy the day by day changes...and if I didn't I could wait until the dust settles...I like the fact that changes from day one to day four keep all the 'empirical data' tainted...and FBF is a great place to address the community...
RGm reviews it after and anyone who wants to contribute can, thanks to Ben...
I'm glad the devs ask our opinion and read the boards to make decisions...I think that at least lets everyone feel they have a voice...very rare that is on this platform"

Geremie Delacroix " I tried the 1 + 15 recipe and let me tell you, it was TOO EASY. I guess some of the hunters who want the recipe to be retained just love the ease of getting Vanilla Stilton. I was able to get a thousand pieces in just a single LOG hunting with Gouda at JoD with the previous formula. That's with Gouda - not even SB+ or VS. So yeah, +1 to change."


John Wilson " What it does is slow down hunters who use SB, which makes them use even more SB, along with the additional time, to achieve the same result. That is the chief reason I don't like or appreciate the revised recipe"

Adrian Chew While "I have to say to the Devs - what disgusts me is not the change, but the way some players have acted and without donaters and paying players, there will be no MH in the future. Please bear this in mind and if you don't reward the paying segment, they will eventually stop paying, and everyone loses. I've seen a ton of selfish and totally unappreciative freeloaders on the boards and their behavior is most disgusting towards the people who help the game keep running and pays the bills for it, so please always take that into account"

Cindy Ireland Hefferman "you want to make it more fair...wiped out all the balack stats and have everyone start over"

Jared May " In case you devs do want feedback, I hope that you've learned that it's not cool to open up a new area and then change it to make it more difficult. If you're going to release something before you're certain about the balance issues, it's far wiser to err on the side of the new stuff being too difficult, leaving you the option of making it easier down the road."

Nathan Wittry " The current recipe yields an unprecedented 15/1 advantage to SB+ users. Changing the recipe to use 5 beans = 15 cheese corrects the advantage. How can anyone argue this?

It seems to me that everyone's main gripe is that farming beans are boring and now they have to farm more beans. Is this not a separate issue?"


Chad Moore "The truth is that the developers are geniuses."

Step one: Create a new storyline that REALLY benefits the use of SB+(Price of SB+ rises)
Step two: Explain that this "benefit" will soon disappear
Step three: Give an impending end date to the "benefit"
End result: Gold and SB+ stores in the Community dwindle to record low numbers.
The climax of their genius, though, is only fully realized in this impending final step:
Final step: Have Ronza show up with a very high-priced LE trap that everybody "must" have.

Thomas Edwards "I think you really do have a dim view of humanity, obviously i don't know them personally but the devs are not as vindictive"

Sean Pennington "I hunted forever for Acolyte without a good trap.. without a mysterious box drop and it left me feeling soured at the game. At the same time instead of moving forwards they released whisker woods which seemed like a bit of a set back."

Jason Tolpin I" dont care about the price of SB... if you're a hunter, you can get gold in the cats with RB, or somewhere... Im truly in no hurry... patience.
I just dont feel, I guess, the need to HAVE to hunt in the cove 100% of the time to keep my place on the scoreboard, if thats my goal. Because everyone around me will, and they will do what it takes.... so I s'pose, this is as high as i get, if I choose to leave the cove.... and I will allow the people below me to climb over me.
Doesnt make me a bad hunter. Just makes me diverse... but do I really feel the need to donate/buy SB now? I really don't know. I just don't feel the way about the game as I used to... and that makes me a little sad."

Kevin Choo "Not an easy task to keep everyone happy."


So far, so good, and forget to sound the horn,
(your real friends will do it for you)

-DRRAGS-
PS- I think the devs just wanted to do something nice and released this area a little ahead of schedule. The tweaks should be expected to help the continuity of the game. Otherwise the game would become "wobbly" over time.
One thing is sure, don't ever make it where only donors get the special stuff like the other apps do. This is the only app where donors and non donors alike do have the chance to get ALL of the same items.

Then what is the point of SB? Or donating? Why do it if there's nothing to gain? The only true gain to SB is TIME. The side effect of this is the ability to progress far faster on the scoreboard than any non-donator. The solution? Multiple scoreboards or a separation feature based on "donation levels ($1 a month isn't the same as $100 a year)" to have it divided by donors and non-donors in "levels of support". That would make some people die hard non donators.
Everyone wins.
you're welcome

Comment on today's Nibbler
Section 2

Advertising Feature


You couldn't ask a better crew. Oh, sure, the people at the Seeker Scoop only bother trying to catch ONE breed of mouse (a lowly Field Mouse, at that!), but they sure do a fantastic job of honing in on all the news, gossip, and discussion that relates to HitGrab's other (other) game, LevynLight.


So, Seek out the Seeker Scoop!


If you've got any bright ideas for what you think should go in this space for a week or two at a time, give Dane Koster a shout (http://www.facebook.com/dane.koster)
Section 3
Your daily Therapy.
This will help you understand the changes that you're experiencing w/ the new ME recipe

1. SHOCK & DENIAL-
You will probably react with numbed disbelief. You may want to deny the possibility of a new ME recipe. This may last for days.

2. PAIN & GUILT-

As the shock wears off, it is replaced with the suffering of unbelievable pain. Although excruciating and almost unbearable, it is important that you experience the pain fully. Suck it up.. You may have guilty feelings or remorse over posts. The game feels chaotic and scary during this phase.

3. ANGER & BARGAINING-
Frustration gives way to anger, and you may lash out and lay unwarranted blame for the new recipe on someone else. Please try to control this, as you may be permanently labeled a troll. This is a time for the release of bottled up emotion.

You may rail against devs, questioning "What the #!@$ are you thinking?" You may also try to bargain in vain with the powers that be for a way out of your despair. "5 for 10? Come on man...5 for 10"

4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS-
Just when you think its over, a long period DHU will likely overtake you. This is a normal stage, so do not be "fooled" by well-meaning outsiders. Encouragement from others is not helpful to you during this stage.

During this time, you finally realize the true magnitude of your loss, and it depresses you. You may isolate yourself on purpose, reflect on things you did with your last ME, and focus on memories of the past. You may sense feelings of emptiness or despair.

5. THE UPWARD TURN-
As you start to adjust to life without getting your way, your life becomes a little calmer and more organized. Your physical symptoms lessen, and your "depression" begins to lift slightly.

6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH-
As you become more functional, your mind starts working again, and you will find yourself seeking realistic solutions to problems posed by hunting for more Beans.

7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE-
During this, the last stage, you learn to accept and deal with the reality of your situation. Acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. Given the pain and turmoil you have experienced, you can never return to the carefree, untroubled ME recipe that existed before this tragedy. But you will find a way forward.

You will once again anticipate some good times to come, and yes, even find joy again in the experience of MH.

Section 5
A very Nibblery selection of always-useful links in yesterdays edition. Check it out.
Todays Section 5 is getting her hair done. This is a proxy.

The Nibbler remains a wholly independent MouseHunt daily news e-publication. Throughout the day, our reporters scour through all the discussion boards, as we are dedicated to bringing the noteworthy news, highlights and gossip of the day to you, the hunters.
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