New feature - Mr Toffee's Fair!

candysodacrusher

@Jami_Fagala those are great questions and I also am interested in the response.  The replacement of the Quests with Mr. Toffee certainly seems like it’s all about the money, but I think that’s only part of it.  From reading Activision stock reports,  two things that I’ve noticed have been mentioned that relate to King have been daily player time which has continued to increase (think about how easy it is to build up several hours of playing time via the daily bonus, Bubblegum Hill, and the gifts on the map).  The second was a mention about making the game more interactive, or as @Xarly mentioned in a previous post, more social—hence the team events.  
I understand trying to keep the game fresh after 5 years, but I also can’t help but be reminded of “New Coke.”  When you’ve got a good thing going, why change it.  😉

disappointedbyking

well, I don't find it easy! the daily bonus gives you 1/2h, BGH does not give you free time, does it? and the gifts imply to pass levels. When stuck, what to do? Without the boosters, everything is very hard. To say the truth, I have often stopped after 10 minutes when stuck and let whatever free time get wasted. 
More social? well, let us create our teams. Mine does NOTHING, either n MTF or with the squad. I am curious to know if you may really get a reward because of what others have done. I don't believe it, I think my partners are bots, and I am alone to collect weak rewards.
Many, most people here are beginners. I passed 50 levels in 2 days when I began, but the quests were there. Now, it would be much harder. 

ISurvived

Candysodacrusher, the New Coke! I love the comparison! And they went back to the original recipe. Maybe Soda will too! 

On my smartphone version, I have the gold bar race back. Still have MTF with lousy rewards though. Half hour of free lives and one color bomb or striped candy. 

Regular candy crush has several ways to get boosters. You can win them through "feeding" the baby dinosaur or ram. You get one of everything if you finish it.  You also get rewards for finishing "your first level today" for six days. And you get to spin a prize wheel every day. 

Why can't Soda do this? Xarly? Elsa?

Ditte

sabbatani said:

come one people nobody give me a answer ,when this toffee appear the very first time,i mean in what level,or is totally random,like is possible in level 49 or 150 or 500,im stuck on level 59 and I want him before proceed,some way to force him to appear or wait the week end,or another possibility to make him appear

 I understand your question but can't answer better than others have already done. What I don't understand is why you're so desperate to get it and don't want to play on without it. It's not worth waiting for. It's not very helpful just an annoyance. 

Jami_Fagala

I totally agree with the comparison to the new coke. It too was supposed to be the latest and greatest but people hated it. Sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? I just hope King follows coke’s lead and changes soda back. 

LauraLMason

It was fun to have competitions like the rocket race. You got  to choose the rocket you wanted and didn't involve being placed with teammates. Whichever rocket was fed the most green candy won. Even the losing rockets were given at least a hand switch. These are the things they need to go back to.

LauraLMason

I consider the rows that  require using boosters to be "trick" rows. Why pick a row or column to work that requires a booster?  There are plenty that dont. If I am the first one to open a board I look at every tile to see which line or column looks easiest. Even if someone else has started I look to see what else is in their row or column. If it requires using a booster don't do it! You are better off starting another row or defaulting. Whatever booster you would have used you will not earn back in the rewards.

Xarly

Hi everyone,

As always, I will try my best to clarify your points and to be as transparent and clear as possible:

Jami_Fagala said:

@Xarly I have 2 questions that I would appreciate straight and honest answers to. One, why did they take the quests away in the first place, was it just to get us (the players) to spend more money? I know it was said earlier quests were just a feature and features come and go but quests have been a part of soda since it started and have been the only constant. With the disappearance of quests and the lousy rewards of toffee and soda squad, seems to me that it’s all about money. Two, is there any talk of giving the players what they want by returning the quests to all players? I realize soda is a healthy game but without players, there is no game. 

Quests were taken away because they were underperforming as a feature, and this is a fact. The vast majority of players (and as mentioned many times, soda has many millions of players out there) were not interacting with the feature and it felt like a lost opportunity. Of course, that doesn't mean some (and many of course, given the size of our player base) truly enjoyed the feature. But, again to be honest with you, the reason of reworking it to Mr Toffee's Fair comes from the fact that it wasn't a feature that players were interacting with, hence the rework into a more engaging and interactive feature (that has clearly not yet accomplished those goals). That is the bigger picture reality, although I understand this story might not be the one you have, I just want to be as transparent as it gets as to why this happened.

The focus is not to have quests return but to improve Mr Toffee's Fair. The team is actually right now working for the end of this week and the beginning of the next one actively on new improvements to the feature. I will be sharing more on that at the end of next week. That's where the focus is at, at the moment.

Clover_7 said:

@Xarly I would also like answers to @Jami_Fagala questions. We have been asked to be patient while data is analysed, feedback considered, MTF tested etc - is there a conclusion to this yet?

For the most part we have been patient, if a little frustrated at times. The results of the testing reaching 75 pages, over several months, are unanimous, this feature isn’t working for the players. We want the individual quests back and the fun returned to the game.

Hi @Clover_7 ,

As said above, the decision for now is to improve the current feature. The difficulty was, as mentioned previously, the first of some changes that want to be implemented. I spent some time yesterday with the team behind it and gave them your feedback and the notes on what it is that frustrates you the most, and also what are the positive elements that have been mentioned by the community. With all that feedback, the team is now going to look at it as a whole and will try to improve it in the very near future.

I understand some of you will not see it this way, but I wish you could understand that behind this game (and all King games) there is a group of humans that care, that play our game, that check this forum but that at the same time have to balance it with making a profitable business out of it, while making sure the fun and excitement is being kept as the main element. There are many initiatives that I'm leading to bring them closer to you and I hope that this helps you all understand better how much they do care and that some very nice initiatives are on the way.

I'm looking forward to sharing more information and news as soon as improvements and new elements come.

I hope this helps. As always, keep your feedback coming (in a respectful manner), I will keep reading it and answering when possible.

Cheers,
Xarly

Ditte

LauraLMason said:

I consider the rows that  require using boosters to be "trick" rows. Why pick a row or column to work that requires a booster?  There are plenty that dont. If I am the first one to open a board I look at every tile to see which line or column looks easiest. Even if someone else has started I look to see what else is in their row or column. If it requires using a booster don't do it! You are better off starting another row or defaulting. Whatever booster you would have used you will not earn back in the rewards.

   For me the rows involving new levels are the most difficult, imposible really except on Fridays. I sometimes choose using hammers, when playing bubblegum hill. But no not worth using a hand or striped hammer to get a wrap or stripe. It's at bit of a gamble which row to choose. Trying to figure out whether the teammates are just sitting on/blocking a tile or actually playing. But as said my options are limited since I play all the new levels Friday and sometimes no rows are without a tile involving new levels or boosters. 

Bricorn

Xarly,
Unfortunately, even after tweaking Mr T - and I do appreciate the changes - it still remains a "team" game. I don't want a team game, and especially with a team that I don't know and can't interact with. 

Sorry, but the return of the Quests would still be my choice.