Proposal: Mid-Season Card Inscription Option In Nationstates
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:46 pm
I appreciate those who made it possible for Season 3 to launch. I have played the Trading Card mini-game since Season 1; over the years, it has served as a fun addition to NationStates. But, lamentably, not everyone has been as fortunate as I have been.
Since 2019, the Trading Card forum has been filled with threads and posts made by players during Season 2 who had missed out on having a playing card manufactured into the marketplace, looking for answers as to if/when they would be able to engage. Among this group were site contributors, young and old, who missed a random cutoff date for inscription. Unfortunately, the result for nearly three years was an inability of others in the community to offer concrete solutions or a time frame for inclusion. Example below:
Season 3?
Instead of repeating this situation in the future, I suggest giving players the option to purchase Mid-Season Card Inscription through the NationStates store. Presently, Trading Cards are manufactured at particular points in time and only for nations that existed at that moment. This leaves out long-time players whose nations may have temporarily expired and newcomers who came too late. Right now, the Store benefits those who purchase the Supporter trophy with Trading Cards deck capacity doubled. In addition, a separate premium product tier could be created for mid-season Card inscription for those who missed the original point of manufacture.
A mid-season pay-to-manufacture model would limit demand abuse while providing financial support to the website, similar to how players can purchase Telegrams for gameplay purposes. Other benefits include:
*The model would allow all new players an option to pay to have their very own trading card by purchasing an inscription, eliminating the current barrier to entry
*The model would give all established players who, through inactivity, may have missed the initial inscription period the opportunity to pay to inscribe
*The model would allow inscribed players who use multiple nations an opportunity to inscribe additional nation cards that may either have expired or may not have existed during the inscription period
*The model would create a wildcard option for collectors to seek out additional in-season Nation artwork that would not otherwise have existed under the current system.
Most importantly, this could foster a more inclusive environment for all players who enjoy this mini-game. It's a shame seeing so many threads and posts by players who don't have their own cards and are left without a precise time frame for when they could get one. If this idea is possible from a technical standpoint, it can give players a chance to contribute both to the website and the mini-game.
Since 2019, the Trading Card forum has been filled with threads and posts made by players during Season 2 who had missed out on having a playing card manufactured into the marketplace, looking for answers as to if/when they would be able to engage. Among this group were site contributors, young and old, who missed a random cutoff date for inscription. Unfortunately, the result for nearly three years was an inability of others in the community to offer concrete solutions or a time frame for inclusion. Example below:
Season 3?
Instead of repeating this situation in the future, I suggest giving players the option to purchase Mid-Season Card Inscription through the NationStates store. Presently, Trading Cards are manufactured at particular points in time and only for nations that existed at that moment. This leaves out long-time players whose nations may have temporarily expired and newcomers who came too late. Right now, the Store benefits those who purchase the Supporter trophy with Trading Cards deck capacity doubled. In addition, a separate premium product tier could be created for mid-season Card inscription for those who missed the original point of manufacture.
A mid-season pay-to-manufacture model would limit demand abuse while providing financial support to the website, similar to how players can purchase Telegrams for gameplay purposes. Other benefits include:
*The model would allow all new players an option to pay to have their very own trading card by purchasing an inscription, eliminating the current barrier to entry
*The model would give all established players who, through inactivity, may have missed the initial inscription period the opportunity to pay to inscribe
*The model would allow inscribed players who use multiple nations an opportunity to inscribe additional nation cards that may either have expired or may not have existed during the inscription period
*The model would create a wildcard option for collectors to seek out additional in-season Nation artwork that would not otherwise have existed under the current system.
Most importantly, this could foster a more inclusive environment for all players who enjoy this mini-game. It's a shame seeing so many threads and posts by players who don't have their own cards and are left without a precise time frame for when they could get one. If this idea is possible from a technical standpoint, it can give players a chance to contribute both to the website and the mini-game.