New Feature: Soda Squad

LauraLMason

I have heard that stage 2 isn't much better. Our team only has 177 points 3 players have contributed a combined total of 28 with 1 still at 0. This should definitely be a feature that asks people if they want to participate in or not before assigning to a group. Maybe then there would be more teams with people that want to play and aren't filled with those who arent interested and end up effecting everyone else.
If anyone looks at the ideas section I have posted something about saving timed booster rewards. Give it a vote if you think it's any good! 

RegalRenz

My soda squad is back but I don't think the rewards are worth the effort. Maybe give striped lollipops or hand switchers instead. 

Dirty_Nurse

RegalRenz said:

My soda squad is back but I don't think the rewards are worth the effort. Maybe give striped lollipops or hand switchers instead. 

This pic says it all.  Absolutely ZERO players want that - this and the stripe are completely useless.  The second tier of “rewards” are simply 2x 30 minute boosters and even if the last tier is one each of the six boosters it’s still not worth the effort.  It’s unfathomable to me how King can keep cranking out - and even promoting! - these awful “team” features after unanimously poor feedback about them.

Anne_Martin

no, not worth it, useless, no one from my squad plays it anymore, no more points coming.

Anne_Martin

(Edited by CM: Off-Topic)

candysodacrusher

Made it to the 320 mark and received 30 minutes of striped candy and 30 minutes of a coloring ball.  In the process I earned over 20 points for my team—the hard way, one replayed level at a time.   The unlimited lives I’d won playing on BGH we’re done, so I had 4 lives to play on my hard level with the 30 minutes of boosters.  Didn’t pass the hard level and about 20 minutes of the free booster time is totally wasted, as I won’t get another life until after the booster time runs out.  😢

LauraLMason

@candysodacrusher's message is a good example of why timed boosters should have the option of being saved to use later. Another game I know rewards various amounts of unlimited lives. Each time a segment is rewarded it is put in an "envelope" for you to use when you want to. This is what would work best for the timed boosters. 

Kathy_Shattuck

Please bring back the individual  quests. The time boosters are frustrating because you can't save them for later.  And I have earned more points than the rest of my squad combined,  so it's  frustrating that  they get rewarded for my work. Please  no more team challenges like this or MTF. 

Yosca

@XarlyIs it an option to have the BGH levels count towards the points? I have reached the highest level and to be able to collect points for the squad I have to replay levels. If I don't do that, my contribution to the squad is low because I can only collect at new levels. And therefore I can be put into a team that is less active. So before new teams are created, it should be considered at which level each is. The levels at the start of the game are much easier to pass than the highest levels. For me the squad is important (even though I think the reward is a joke) so far because I have no other possibility to collect boosters. As mentioned here before, it would be more fun if you can store these boosters. But the best thing would be to do only individual challenges and thereby collect boosters.

Xarly

Hi all, I'm very glad to see that you are coming and letting myself and the rest of the community your impressions on the feature. As mentioned multiple times, the teams will improve over time as you get placed with other active members. As also mentioned several times, this is the first iteration of a very new and different event for Soda. This means that there are improvements and other elements on the way for upcoming updates. Some will be coming very soon and other features that are major improvements will take time. This is the very first iteration of a feature that we expect to have for long, so please take that into account when providing feedback about the current version.

candysodacrusher said:

@Xarly, I have a few questions about the composition of the squads that I hope you can give some insight into.
  You mentioned that if a squad gets the 800 points, the team gets to stay together, correct?  So what happens if a squad  earns the 800 points thanks to the productivity of one or two players?  Are those two productive players still stuck with the two inactive ones for the next series?

I’ve found this to be a game of streaks.  There are times when I’m able to really make a good productive run of levels and other times when I’ve been stuck in an episode for weeks.  So, let’s say I’ve had a few of those really productive runs and get bumped up into a group of equally productive players.  Then I hit a dry streak and am unable to contribute as much.  Do I get bumped back down into a group with less productive players?



Also, can you provide some insight into why the developers are putting so much focus on the team events?

Last, but not least, I appreciate all the work you put in managing these boards.  Acting as a liaison between the developers and the players can’t always be an easy task.  Thank you for your efforts.

@Candysodacrusher, thank you a lot for your words! Although challenging, I love doing what I do and being that bridge between both sides. Regarding your points:

what happens if a squad  earns the 800 points thanks to the productivity of one or two players?

I do not know for a fact if that would be the case, in regard to players' productivity in a successful team, but I believe all players need to do a minimum in order for the team to stay as such. I will forward the question to the team and will keep an eye to see what happens in the future (you might have thought of a scenario that maybe does happen and needs to be improved!)

Do I get bumped back down into a group with less productive players?

No, you wouldn't get bumped back down. There aren't tiers of productivity per se, but there is a minimum threshold of points (which is not absurdly high) that a player needs to do in order to be placed in teams with other active members. That is the way the system currently works, but that does not mean it might not need tweaks.

why the developers are putting so much focus on the team events?

This is a difficult yet great question. I think it comes down to multiple elements. One of them is that the game is turning 5 and, although it's doing great, this is a very fast-paced industry and the team is looking into ways of making the game as successful for the next 5 years (Candy Crush Soda is one of the most successful puzzle games of all times, but we want to make sure it keeps being so for a long time). Another point is that games nowadays are very social. Mobile games have been more and more social and there is a high demand for all these games to allow people to team up and play together. Soda is just starting with these different features, but there is a lot more to improve in order to be truly social. This does not mean we plan on enforcing social, but there is a general tendency to improve that aspect of the game. And last, there is a big demand for social even between our players. We run a lot of Surveys, Events, Interviews, etc and we can see that within our own player base, people do like to be able to socialize and play together (again, with the option of choosing not to).

I hope these answer your questions! Keep them coming  .

Is it an option to have the BGH levels count towards the points?

Hey @Yosca, very good question! It's currently not, but I agree with you. For those of you that are our top players, it makes sense, otherwise it is way harder for you to collect as many points as, let's say, a player that is level 100.

All feedback is being addressed, and I take a note regarding the first and second chests' rewards to make sure the team is well aware.

Cheers to you all and please keep the feedback (in ways that follow our House Rules) coming,
Xarly