Times: A suggestion
I'll start by saying I really like SWGOH, but that the handling of various times in the game is really annoying. This was highlighted for me when I recently requested a time zone change (for some reason my payout were at 6 & 7 am). Anyway, here are some thoughts:
Some times don't really matter, like the guild activity reset and the daily activity reset. However, having these two times close together is a real disadvantage since activities like the Daily Challenges and PvP that you can do both before and after the daily reset become difficult (or impossible). I think ideally they should always be 12 hours apart.
The payout times really do matter though, and anyone who happens to: have a job, have family responsibilities, need to sleep because they work a night shift, ... such that they can't be on between 5 & 7pm in their time zone (as it seems like 6 & 7pm are the default payout times?) faces a distinct disadvantage in the game because of it.
I would like to urge CG to consider players to choose their own payout times. At a minimum this could be a one time thing, but better I think would be the ability to change this every 3 months (acknowledging that some people's schedules change depending on the season, for example). Or N times a year, or whatever would be easiest.
I'm actually not sure what the concern about changing times is. I suppose that there could be collusion and that people in a shard might agree to all take different payout times. So you get 24 people who can get into the top spot for their payout. Maybe. if the shard was really organized. But honestly, who cares? That seems a much better situation than not acknowledging the diversity of players and their living situations and when they'll be able to log on to do activities. I don't mind being told "you need to log on twice a day if you want to do these activities." But being told "you have to log on between 4 & 5 pm" - that just sucks.
As a personal example - I used to have payouts at 6 & 7 am (which **** - sleeping/getting ready for work) but my guild & daily activity resets were 10:30pm and noon, which was great (I can usually find some time on either side of those times to do the required activities). Now my payouts are 6 & 7 pm (but I will often work until 7pm which means that instead of playing at 2am and getting payout at 6am I play at 2am and get payout at 6pm - forget staying at the top of my shard). And my daily reset is at midnight which means that if I can't get on between 10:30pm and midnight forget getting half of my guild activities in.
I'm just one person, but I imagine that there are many players out there who would greatly benefit from being able to choose their own times. How about it CG?
Some times don't really matter, like the guild activity reset and the daily activity reset. However, having these two times close together is a real disadvantage since activities like the Daily Challenges and PvP that you can do both before and after the daily reset become difficult (or impossible). I think ideally they should always be 12 hours apart.
The payout times really do matter though, and anyone who happens to: have a job, have family responsibilities, need to sleep because they work a night shift, ... such that they can't be on between 5 & 7pm in their time zone (as it seems like 6 & 7pm are the default payout times?) faces a distinct disadvantage in the game because of it.
I would like to urge CG to consider players to choose their own payout times. At a minimum this could be a one time thing, but better I think would be the ability to change this every 3 months (acknowledging that some people's schedules change depending on the season, for example). Or N times a year, or whatever would be easiest.
I'm actually not sure what the concern about changing times is. I suppose that there could be collusion and that people in a shard might agree to all take different payout times. So you get 24 people who can get into the top spot for their payout. Maybe. if the shard was really organized. But honestly, who cares? That seems a much better situation than not acknowledging the diversity of players and their living situations and when they'll be able to log on to do activities. I don't mind being told "you need to log on twice a day if you want to do these activities." But being told "you have to log on between 4 & 5 pm" - that just sucks.
As a personal example - I used to have payouts at 6 & 7 am (which **** - sleeping/getting ready for work) but my guild & daily activity resets were 10:30pm and noon, which was great (I can usually find some time on either side of those times to do the required activities). Now my payouts are 6 & 7 pm (but I will often work until 7pm which means that instead of playing at 2am and getting payout at 6am I play at 2am and get payout at 6pm - forget staying at the top of my shard). And my daily reset is at midnight which means that if I can't get on between 10:30pm and midnight forget getting half of my guild activities in.
I'm just one person, but I imagine that there are many players out there who would greatly benefit from being able to choose their own times. How about it CG?
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Of course the main point is that people's lives change. Is there any reason not to let the game change so that they can get the most enjoyment from it?
I'll make a money pitch too. People are more likely to spend money when they think it gives them hope of doing better. If you know you can't play for 12 hours before payout then you know there is no way you'll be top 10 no matter how much money you spend. Letting people choose when to play the game will help the bottom line too.
People's lives change, such as EMT/Paramedic who is has a changing shift schedule every 6 months, or just someone moving careers, or maybe leaving college and entering the workforce. Shouldn't be locked to whatever time zone you were in when you created the account. In fact, I was travelling when I registered for my account, but happened to be same time zone, so that was lucky, because at the time (in 2015) they didn't even hint that it would be a factor or important, and definitely didn't let you select your time zone.
I also understand the need to not allow this to be changed on a whim, as it could be exploited that way. Once every 6 months or so should prevent any of that, and allow for people with flexible schedules to make a change.
The daylight savings frustrates me always, as my work schedule doesn't change times, so when the bonus energy shifts by an hour and is no longer on my lunch break, my likelihood of missing it increase significantly.