WingmanDraws
I will preface this by saying that I am for this event in general! I do like the overall goal and purpose of the event! However, I do the think the Hype Train feature could use some adjustment. The current system (as of writing this) incentivizes poor behavior and greatly hinders people from actively donating to the charity or attempting to receive the item.
This is greatly due to a few factors:
1) The hype train itself being tied to the instance and allowing everyone within the instance to benefit from those who donate. This is a major issue as those who have no intention of donating or who would have gifted now possibly will not as they can just 'camp' an instance, effectively blocking one of the slots that could be used by someone who would have gifted. This effectively kills attempts at getting the hype train to 100 due to their inability/refusal to assist in the goal, all while attempting to get the item for themselves. Another side effect of this is people will open group instances for the hype trains, and the moment that the train ends (failed or succeeded), the group owners will close the instance forcing everyone else into other queues. Which, in themselves, are already massively blown out of proportion. These queues and "squatters" are leaving those who donate with few options when it comes to the event. It's heavily encouraged that once donating, you should leave the instance if you cannot donate further, so that you may potentially allow someone else who can donate into the instance and increase your odds for success.
2) The 5 minute timer is a massive hindrance to the whole idea of a charity focused event. It creates a sense of urgency, sure, but sadly the way it currently functions is simply not conductive to a good experience to the user. One major, if not the biggest, issue is the fact that multiple gifted VRC+ subs does not count the timer higher than 5 minutes, it simply resets it to 5 minutes regardless of when the bundle was dropped.. This has caused the player base to simply drop one sub at a time in an instance in order to "stretch" the timer as long as possible, which is rather difficult due to #1. This drastically lowers the incentives to drop more than 1 sub at a time for people just to keep the hype train alive.
3) The goal being 100 is rather strange to me as, along to the compound issues from #1 and 2 making the train difficult, trying to get or hoping that every single person in an 80+ instance donates a single sub, the goal still wouldn't be met! I can't imagine someone trying this in a smaller lobby or with friends.
All of these issue compound into a rather poor experience. I know of some people, including myself, who have felt "ripped off" when we enter these instances, drop multiple subs, only for the train to fail, effectively being forced to spend more money we may not have intended to do if we want the fan.
While I cannot offer a solution for every issue, here's the ideas I do have to offer:
  • Reduce the goal from 100 to 80 or even 50 to match the instance cap and incentivize more people to drop in smaller instances rather than sitting in queues for the big ones, as well as those who have received the item already to leave and clear up room for others to come in.
  • Remove or adjust the timer functionality. I suggest the former, but if the later is considered, I recommend allowing subs to add to the timer rather than resetting it. Compounding or scaling by how many are dropped at a time.
  • Perhaps add a way to guarantee the item for yourself if you donate a set amount, just as the other items in the event work. Perhaps 10 subs total (double the pet/companion). This would give an option for those who are either unlucky or unable to contribute to the event.
I know my proposals aren't perfect, but these are my suggestions! I do hope this event goes well and we meet the community goal! Happy Pride and thank you for reading!
-WingmanDraws