What's the point of doing quests...

[DaraAllen]

when so many people cheat so much!

Last night I did all four quests. (Yes, I was able to get in the queue for once!)

One of the quests, I was fourth! Then THEY started. The mules. Running through quests a second time with a different character. What did I get for an hour and a half? A cellar dweller. Bottom of the list score. Finished 76th in the one I was fourth in. Others were in the hundreds.

I know that there's a thread on cheaters, but with this being a blow-out quest weekend, I thought this needed to be addressed.

So, I ask again, what's the point of doing the VMK hosted quests when, in order to get a prize, you have to cheat?

I won't do that. I'll never get anywhere on VMK as a result. But I won't lower myself to their standards.

Bottom line, though: I'm only three weeks into VMK, and I doubt I'll be around in another three weeks because of this.

 

[JeanJoe]

Yes, it is really irritating. I only do the quests for the fun of it now, not with any hope whatsoever of winning a prize, so long as they award a limited number of prizes (say, ~100 or so), dependent on finishing time.

I bet the following suggestions have already been made, but I was thinking about the VMK quests this morning, and perhaps if VMK staff are reading here, they might consider these options:

1) Re-code the quest prizes to NOT depend on finishing time or order.
- basically, set it up a little like a raffle for prizes
- when the quest ends, _everybody_ who finished would have the chance to win; 1 person at random might win the inferno; 10 people at random might win the turnstile; 100 people at random might win 100 credits
- of course, this doesn't prevent people from muling the quest over and over, to increase their chances
- but at least, people who DON'T run through the quest multiple times to get faster times still have SOME chance of winning; currently, I think it's fair to say that anybody who "plays fair" and goes through the quest once has just about no chance of winning

1b) Increase the number of prizes
- this is essentially doing what's suggested above, but WITHOUT any requirement for the VMK developers to actually do any new coding
- currently, ~100 prizes are awarded for a quest that lasts 2-3 hours; I'm estimating that maybe ~600+ or so people and mules actually get through the quest
- if they simply had the number of prizes awarded roughly equal to the number of people who can do the quest in the 2-3 hours, with the "good prizes" scattered throughout, there would be less incentive to re-run the quests to achieve faster times
- even if 600+ prizes were awarded, 90% of them could be little credit prizes, and only a small fraction could be the "excellent" prizes, but at least this would give people playing the quests fairly a chance to win

2) Consider limiting number of entries per IP address
- sort of equivalent to a "one entry per household" set-up
- either each IP address could only enter the quest once, or when prizes are awarded, each IP address could only be considered once for a prize
- this would be a real bummer for households where multiple people play, but would make it more difficult to enter the quest multiple times with mules
- I'm thinking that people who enter mules in the quests multiple times might not be so willing to repeatedly change their IP address in order to re-enter the quest

 

[tigressjewel]

I do hope you won't let that chase you away! I don't often win prizes in the staff quests either. I think I got 50 credits once. I do want to mention though that there are lots of GREAT player quests out there!! Often there is hardly anyone playing them. Players usually get a little more creative with theming their quests and I've found them a little more challenging than host quests. I just like the quests in general though. Its helped me look at vmk in new ways and discover little hidden things I might not have noticed otherwise. I've won a few little prizes along the way too, anything from a t-shirt to 450 credits! Don't let the cheaters bother you though. There is nothing you can do about it, but if you let them take away your fun then they have really won! Btw.. I hear rolls is gearing up for another new quest and from past reviews of her other quests, they are always fun! So keep your eye out and give that a try as a welcome break to the long lines in the staff quest this weekend.

 

[disvaclub92]

Believe me I know what you mean. I have to been so mad over the quests. But I waver back and forth maybe this will work, maybe it will get better, and only to end up in dissapointment. But then I step back and go - why do I bother wasting my time when I could be easily hanging out with my friends or earning credits elsewhere. Trust me winning a quest would be nice, but the odds are not in my favor unless I get my army of mules out there (which they have been bored lately). But I choose not to do that, I would rather spend my time with my friends then get frustrated and annoyed at the quest. All I can hope is today, these quests everyone is rewarded someway somehow. If not, then our efforts will be futile again. I know I will try the quests, just to see if anything has changed.

Do not give up on VMK due to Staff Events. Trust me it is not all about the events and virtual prizes.

 

[rcpratt3]

This is very frustrating, especially for those that have a quest engine and make quests. I have sent in feedback on this to vmk via contact us. There is really no way for them to prevent people from doing this. I made a big post about this on another site and the moderators actually deleted it . There was nothing bad in the post. I just asked people nicely to remember how much work it takes to make, test and run a quest, no to mention that fact that we are using our own inventory and credits to provide the prizes - vmk does not give this to us. It is very inconsiderate to both the quest owner and the other players to cheat like this. Because of all the cheaters, I have now decided to only open my quests to friends only. So not only are they hurting themselves by doing this, but others as well. I know I will never win a prize by doing the Host quest because of this. The only reason I do them is to get ideas for my own quests.

 

[Iris]

I also have to say that I only do the quests now for the fun of it. I gave up hope of winning a prize. The first quest I tried, I was the 369th winner and of course no prize. The next I was 190th winner and again no prize. I did get 86th place once and won 450 credits.

Really, I am happy just to be able to finish on my own and have fun with it. I think if I were only playing the quests to win something like inferno (which I will never win), then I would be disappointed and upset. Yes, I see the mules going through and it is sad but I have gotten to the point that it really does not bother me too much. The host quests were designed for all players, mules or not, and the creators did not have to give up anything to provide prizes. It is when it is a player created quest that it is sad that people cheat. At least in my opinion.

I hope you keep on playing and play for the fun of it, not for the prizes.


As for the following suggestion:

2) Consider limiting number of entries per IP address

It sounds like it would work except as you said, families in which there are several players. There are three of us in our home that play, it would be difficult to explain to my two daughters that we could only play the quest once because of this. I do like the other suggestions, I think those could really work.

 

[DaraAllen]

I've tried a lot of the player's quests. Many of them are fun. And I appreciate them more because I know that people worked so hard on them.

Last night I did one and didn't even realize that I had won something until I went back to try to run it. I had done so many quests by that point (12:30 pm), I had forgotten that I finished it (I dc a lot! - gotta love Comcast). Got a Buzz Lightyear Cup pin and 50 credits. I don't care if it's just something that simple. Someone (Navimap) went to the trouble of creating it, stocking it with prizes, and staffing the room. She was incredibly helpful to others who were having trouble. An all-around good time.

The frustration for me, as a newbie, is that I hear so much about the awesome prizes awarded in the VMK hosted quests that I'll NEVER be able to get. You know, ignorance is bliss? If I didn't know that so many people receive such really cool prizes, it wouldn't sting so much when the mules come out. But knowing that it's the mules GETTING those cool prizes just rubs me the wrong way. I can only imagine the frustration when you create a personal quest and the mules take all the prizes!

 

[Adventuredaz]

I debated responding here because I have already said my peace on this but I have decided that I will rarely participate in any staff quests for that reason exactly. I know one person who is very good at these things and can put up some good times without a mule, so I imagine that others can as well, but even that person finishes near the back. I don't want to spend all night running mules through quests to compete although I certainly could do that and I can enjoy vmk more without the frustration and earn way more credits elsewhere.

I have already resolved that I will not ever get certain things in vmk (ie. Inferno) and I am perfectly fine by that fact. My problem is it really destroys what should have been a good addition to vmk.

The quests are fun, I am good at most of them and should be in the running. JeanJoe has some good suggestions - some that go a little further than I initially would have liked to see happen but maybe necessary. I have seen other good suggestions as well. I will probable participate for fun in friends quests and occationally staff quests and help people needing help with quests but for these same reasons I have decided I will not in the forseeable future ever opperate any of my three quest machines - if I do it will be friends only or all narnia, Everest, Kellogges, and Monster prizes. Otherwise I may as well give to every begger out there in vmk.


Note: The only quest I can think of that people would not mule and have considered setting it up is one many would not like but would appeall to people such as myself. That is a very long series of Mini games perhaps mostly Haunted Mansion Or Fire Works With a very High goal. So that would be like 40 tasks untimed (or long time) all Haunted mansion games catching 75 ghosts or mix in a few timed games with less ghosts at the end which could take two days to complete, the person has a lot of earned credit, I would feel they were worthy of a prize and if they used a mule they would still deserve a prize - it would be long but most of my friends could achieve it and would enjoy it.

 

[aprncess]

I dont like the idea of one win per ip address as more than that play in my house and that is just not fair to all the players in the homes with more than just one player...I do however think that the suggestion of more prizes is the right solution to this problem...There are sometimes over 3000 players online, most are trying to get in a host room for the quest, by the time you finally get in, after repeatedly clicking, just to enter into the queve, a half an hour has pasted, then you have to wait in line for 49 other players, just to get in the room about another half hour, keeping in mind the dc, finally you get into the room to find the quest machine surrounded with players and sometimes you have to wait for an open spot to even start the quest, even if you know the answers right off, you have to wait for the pages to load and it takes sometimes like forever, oh no, now you have dc, more time counting against you to sign back in.........

a few days back, i did a very easy quest in Host Phinnys room and to my surprise it still took me about 20 minutes and I came in the 300's but yet the top player did it in 8 minutes, now come on, how are they doing this other than running a mule though it, either first or after their main charater.......

I like the fact that they have scattered the prizes but I do feel that more prizes should be given out due to the number of players playing...say maybe 500 that way the honest players have just as fair a chance as those that are not running mules though for a better chance of getting a prize or better prize.....

but i will still keep playing them and maybe one day i will actually win something from them....

who knows maybe it will happen from this quest event weekend

 

[MaliaMichelle]

2) Consider limiting number of entries per IP address
- this would be a real bummer for households where multiple people play, but would make it more difficult to enter the quest multiple times with mules


It would be more than a bummer, it would be the end of VMK for us. I will not have my kids playing a game where only one or the other can get do a quest, or game. They fight over things enough in real life (playstation 2 usually) without having them fight over who gets to do the quest. My youngest is too young really to do the quests, but he likes to do them with me. There are three of us in this house that play VMK.

 

[DaraAllen]

Whoa! I didn't mean to get off on this particular tangent. There is no fair way to stop this from happening. You'd wind up only hurting the good people out there (like those in your situations). It's kind of like chronic pain: Don't like it, but gotta learn to live with it.

Mods, please shut this down before it gets out of hand!

LOL!

 

[MaliaMichelle]

Whoa! I didn't mean to get off on this particular tangent. There is no fair way to stop this from happening. You'd wind up only hurting the good people out there (like those in your situations). It's kind of like chronic pain: Don't like it, but gotta learn to live with it.

Mods, please shut this down before it gets out of hand!

LOL!

Sorry if my tone came across as an argument. Was just stating my feelings on the whole IP # issue.

I agree with you on how frustrating the whole mule thing is. My oldest and I are lucky if we get in to do it once with the long lines and dc's. We are just happy to complete it, although I was surprised when I won a black candlestick earlier this week. I guess I cheat in a way though. My son and I don't share all the answers, but if one or the other get stuck, we ask the other for help.

 

[silvrstrfx]

What's really interesting to me is that the other day, I was talking to someone who won a quest using a mule after going through it with their main. And I happened to be in the same room when one of the Hosts entered it and told them (on their main!) that they had won a prize on their mule account, but they were aware that this was their second time going through it and to not do it (using a main + mule) again, so it looks like somehow they are keeping tabs. Now I wonder if they were to do it again, what would happen...

 

[cteddiesgirl]

..I do however think that the suggestion of more prizes is the right solution to this problem...There are sometimes over 3000 players online, most are trying to get in a host room for the quest, by the time you finally get in, after repeatedly clicking, just to enter into the queve, a half an hour has pasted, then you have to wait in line for 49 other players, just to get in the room about another half hour, keeping in mind the dc, finally you get into the room to find the quest machine surrounded with players and sometimes you have to wait for an open spot to even start the quest, even if you know the answers right off, you have to wait for the pages to load and it takes sometimes like forever, oh no, now you have dc, more time counting against you to sign back in.........

a few days back, i did a very easy quest in Host Phinnys room and to my surprise it still took me about 20 minutes and I came in the 300's but yet the top player did it in 8 minutes, now come on, how are they doing this other than running a mule though it, either first or after their main charater.......

This is just it for me. Every time I try doing one of the Hosts quests, something happens. I usually get dc'd at least once. And then, there have been several times where I have to go into a room and I get stuck in between the rooms. And I can't go forward or backwards. So I have to close out and re-log back in. Then the other night, I was in the middle of a quest where I was doing really well time wise. And my internet connection cuts out. At that point, I just completely gave up on ever getting anything in those quests. And I have not done one since. I also have not been in vmk much since then either.

Personally, I can't see how some of these people are posting the times that they are. Even with using a mule and going thru the same quest several times. There's still the time you have to wait to get into the various rooms, finding them, etc. They can must be on T3 lines is all I can figure.

 

[Peri]

Obviously we all feel strongly about the quests!

I really like them - I have only "won" the stuff everyone gets for finishing host quests - but never anything else - I come in always at the bottom. But I just enjoy doing them a lot!

My suggestion would be - make your first 100 or so prizes something like a 25 credit pin or 10 credits or something. THen make your 103rd prize "Inferno" or something great, and so on, just randomly stuff in the good stuff, that way it would be much harder for the mules to get into the right order - it would encourage more people to play, too, in my opinion.

Meanwhile, though, don't give up on VMK just because you can't win a quest - there is lots to do besides quests! And I just enjoy wandering around and talking to folks and trying to finish level 2 pirates - last night I played with someone and we beat the game, for once- he was a great teammate! So look forward to those small moments.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Welcome to VMK! Do not let this deter you from staying. It is a fun game. You can make "virtual" friends - yes, I know they are real ppl behind the screen but I strongly support the "you never really know who you are talking to" so keep it "virtual." It is a good stress relief too.

But, it is also a parallel to life - you will always have ppl who will cheat to get stuff.

It's sad, but true. Do not let them keep you from discovering your own fun in this game. I do the Staff Quest's - with no expection whatsoever in winning a prize. They are fun side games to me. That's all. I have also discovered areas of VMK that I never knew about before. And that's fun too!

Those who are out there who use the mules in quests know that they are cheating - and in some way - karma will get them. Always does. And karma will reward you for not cheating - in life and in vmk - trust me, it's happened to me.

Stick around and take the high road.

 

[bopper]

If you notice in the Host quests, that half way down the prize lists you find some really good prizes. So not just the fast mules are rewarded, but others too!

 

[DaraAllen]

Welcome to VMK! Do not let this deter you from staying. It is a fun game. You can make "virtual" friends - yes, I know they are real ppl behind the screen but I strongly support the "you never really know who you are talking to" so keep it "virtual." It is a good stress relief too.

But, it is also a parallel to life - you will always have ppl who will cheat to get stuff.

It's sad, but true. Do not let them keep you from discovering your own fun in this game. I do the Staff Quest's - with no expection whatsoever in winning a prize. They are fun side games to me. That's all. I have also discovered areas of VMK that I never knew about before. And that's fun too!

Those who are out there who use the mules in quests know that they are cheating - and in some way - karma will get them. Always does. And karma will reward you for not cheating - in life and in vmk - trust me, it's happened to me.

Stick around and take the high road.

Wow! Very philosophical for a Friday afternoon.

Karma has yet to reward me for doing the right thing. But I keep doing it. Fundamental belief system.

I'll try the VMK hosted quests once in a while. I'll probably stick to the player quests and games for the majority of my entertainment, although some of those are a tad too disorganized for me. I watched a game last night that took over 30 minutes (should have been five) because the people wouldn't sit down while they waited, and then questioned the owner as to why he had that rule! The owner was nice, and didn't seem to want to boot any one, even though many called for it. I wanted to leave the room, but it was too much like a car accident, I knew I shouldn't look, but I couldn't stop looking!

Anyway, I will try not to get discouraged and take it for what it is, a game. It should be enjoyable (yea, like scoring 350 on pirates is SOOOOO enjoyable!). I'll keep trying to get to 240,000 in fireworks (got 220,000 on one game last night, followed by another at 112,000!), improve my HM ghost catching (I am NOT looking forward to the 85 ghosts, if I ever get to do that), and dabble in quests.

 

[Maleficent2]

2) Consider limiting number of entries per IP address
- this would be a real bummer for households where multiple people play, but would make it more difficult to enter the quest multiple times with mules


It would be more than a bummer, it would be the end of VMK for us. I will not have my kids playing a game where only one or the other can get do a quest, or game. They fight over things enough in real life (playstation 2 usually) without having them fight over who gets to do the quest. My youngest is too young really to do the quests, but he likes to do them with me. There are three of us in this house that play VMK.

exactly.

I have yet to complete any of the VMK staff quests, myself, just too hard to do with dial up. Or any player ones either.

This subject has been beat to death so as the op wishes I am closing this thread.