Take Back the Derby: Making Derby Fun Again!

[bender018]

Sorry Momscar I’m going to drag it back off topic a little again.
In my humble opinion there’s only so much a hood can do to try and make these special derbies fun again, what really needs to be done is that these derbies need to be more fun.

For me I’ve had it and the current derby really takes the red berry cake in the boring department. Take this summer themed derby for example which features fishing amongst other things. We just finished a fishing derby for crying out loud! And thankfully the angler and day trip tasks went MIA but still.. just too soon after the previous. As for Thebes rest of the featured items they’re all dreadfully long and boring tasks with mostly production. Why not add a beach café task in the mix. Seems to fit in with summer theme for me.

These kinds of special derbies really aren't special at all with their frequency. And they’re mostly boring production and long tasks there need to be some more variety or faster tasks in the mix.

I do love the idea of themed derby but certainly not the way they’re executed as of late. And I do enjoy the mystery derby or blossom derby but these endless boring production derbies, bah if I don’t see one for another year I wouldn’t miss it.

Furthermore if for example you choose these special products..For Special derby 1: vanilla ice cream, chili popcorn and carrot cake
For special derby 2: red berry cake, tomato juice, feta pie
For special derby 3: cotton shirts, tofu dogs, apple juice.


Then you do NOT get 3 different derbies but you get 3 of the same derbies with the same bloody warm, vegan and picnic tasks. So yes I am starting to really dislike these production derbies. And I’m a player who has always enjoyed derby and only missed a very few of them since they were introduced. These special derbies need to be way more divers, task selection needs to improve and they should have significantly better prizes more often and they should be more special (rare).

and that’s just my 2 cents worth.

That‘s exactly how I feel about that themed derby thing. Thanks!


I really don‘t know how we (the players) can bring back the enthusiasm of playing derbies to our teams. The themed derbies are getting worse from derby to derby. The focus on production tasks where nobody can help their team mates is the main reason why people are losing their interest in this game, I think. You‘re planting strawberries, feeding goats, filling up machines and then there is nothing left to do but to wait for hours. No need to come back every hour to look if someone needs help or wants to chat. And when everyone is doing that at the same time, as there are no other types of tasks, there is no chance to communicate or bring back fun. I have to hold myself back from ranting about this derby the whole day in chat. So I‘m staying quiet. And this sucks. Big time. And even I -someone who is opting out from derby very rarely- am experiencing the whole frustration and urge to opt out next time. The incentive to do these kind of derbies every second week is not there anymore. And yes, the rewards are underwhelming. Especially as derbies like the current one doesn‘t feel like fun and distraction from everyday life anymore. More like a chore.

[mdcfc]

Momscar,

I applaud your efforts to try and make these awful derby fun again, but for any hood that is built around competitive racing, I just don’t see how it’s possible to be really competitive and have fun with this garbage. To suggest otherwise is like suggesting that it’s possible to pick up a 💩 by the clean end

The onus here should be on Supercell to give a toss and stop creating such dire themed Derbys that are turning players away from the game. The question is how the hell do we get them to see what they are doing to the game and engage with the Hayday playing community?

[LynnK2015]

...FYI, we also have a new hoodie who is a very new player. She's a lower level than most of us but is friends with one member and we're glad to have her on board. But after just 3 weeks, she's ready to quit because it's too much work.

I think that's a big warning sign for SC -- or at least it should be.

I wonder if your new hoodie will be the canary in the coal mine. Only Team Hay Day will know.

...I applaud your efforts to try and make these awful derby fun again, but for any hood that is built around competitive racing, I just don’t see how it’s possible to be really competitive and have fun with this garbage. To suggest otherwise is like suggesting that it’s possible to pick up a  by the clean end

LOL, Steve. As noted by your QMT, you do know something about expelling excrement. Must never get on your bad side, you merry and imaginative prankster.

https://forum.supercell.com/showthre...1#post11821575

The onus here should be on Supercell to give a toss and stop creating such dire themed Derbys that are turning players away from the game. The question is how the hell do we get them to see what they are doing to the game and engage with the Hayday playing community?

Sadly, I think an organized boycott by hardcore derbyists won't work because it was done a few years ago across several social platforms. However, I'm speculating when a significant number of hardcore derbyists stop playing themed derbies, then Team Hay Day will be alarmed and make the necessary tweaks.

[Tangntonic]

Is that pixelated gold trophy that cannot be displayed anywhere but here in your signature worth losing great players? For me, there are too many other real stresses in life to constantly feel the need to win.

I agree. I've enough to do in RL, I don't need to sit by my tablet and wait for the derby to dictate my life. Really, I've found in the past 6-12 months, the rewards aren't that special. I can make up those items weekly in regular game play. WHY waist my time fretting over the derby for very minimal rewards. RL is too important to waist on this stuff. Unless of course MOM, you're a cat person LOL

[uneekrose]

I’ve already been informed that everyone will be opting out of next derby. If this weeks derby is any indication of how the derby’s will be from now on maybe we as players need to take a stand and all opt out till hayday brings back better tasks, more variety instead of the same things each week. The ones thos week were to hard and repetitive. Took the fun right out, getting tired of hayday. Just another game that will slowly fade away.

[Momscar]

Kat, as usual, you are spot on in you summary of what the “Special” derbys should be and why they are not.

I see more and more posts of players quitting the entire game because of the derby. That saddens me, as I really do love the game.

If the derby was taken away today, our NH and, I would guess many others, would survive and would go back to farming, chatting, and helping. However, those NH’s that are built to be derby winners may not. SC and Team HD needs to decide if there is an adequate way to appease both ends of the spectrum and if there is, how to implement the plan.

Until then both groups are stuck with what is being offered. Let’s hope that when SC returns from summer holidays in a few weeks they will hear this loud and clear.

[themammabear]

I agree momsc ar, for me the game is about the thrill of the race and winning the gold cups. Before the institution of the derby, the regular farming was beginning to get repetitive and boring. Supercell was wise enough to recognize that players needed more to keep their interest. They have done a good job continually adding more elements to entice us. But the derby is running off the rails and they have to find a way to bring back the fun. Themed derbies sound like wonderful fun if they could just put balance and variety in the tasks. I disagree w Steve, it can be done, those guys aren’t stupid. They need to hear us and put their time and talents into this. Right now their efforts r probably going into the next major update.

[WussyPuss]

That special prize throws a wrench in what my plan was. My hoodmates and I do love a special deco. So for the next week, our strongest 3 or 4 farms will go ⚽️   ⚾️ to the wall and do this derby. After that it is back to relaxed, quite like WP described. Just try to make it to the final threshold.

Mdcfc, months ago you asked the question about the point value of the first task taken and how it may or may not affect the lineup.
Our small hood, that normally would go perfect has tried this method several times since then. I can only speak for our results, but we have stayed in the CL and even placed when doing this. Although a small NH, we are very competitive people but we also love HD for the many ways it can be played and the non-competitive nature of the original game.

We were getting very bored with the grind. Our farms only being worked for the derby and no chat going on except about the derby prep. HD is, IMO, so much more than the derby. So we have decided relaxed is so much more fun. It leaves time for other interests and RL. We do our derby taking a fairly low first task, 270 or so. With our time zones we start about 5-6 hours after the derby starts. We decided to stretch it out, even taking a not so loved fishing or goat milk task. Instead of finishing in 12-16 hrs, we are taking 4-5 days. Slow and steady.

I would strongly encourage any NH’s out there to try this method. Taming the competitor may be the most difficult part. Just try it for a a few regular derbys. I would love to know if this works. Mdcfc, I don’t know if you will ever try this, but if you ever do, your NH result is the one I would find most interesting.

Fyi, I did try taking a low first task, 237 sugar cane harvest task. We still have 3 perfect finalists, so I don’t see any merit to this theory.

It was worth a shot

[Tim1980]

now this was a boring derby again, this really needs to change !!!

[nicolaplays]

New to this thread, and going back to the first post as WussyPuss states my feelings perfectly:

The derby was created on the premise that you earn rewards for everyday farming. I don’t see it like that any longer.

I used to find derby fun. But if I'm focussing on derby in its current form, no way am I doing "everyday farming" as well. I'm stacking machines, leaving crops and animals unharvested and wilted trees unflagged, in case I need them for the next task. Back in the day, I could usually complete 9-10 tasks in a few days so it didn't matter so much - I could do everyday farming for the rest of the week. But with these special derbies, all I do is refresh the board looking for high point tasks so that we can get all our horseshoes (gotta get those puzzle pieces for the cute sanctuary babies!) and stay in our league.

I opted out for a few weeks due to a busy period at work, and it was actually really relaxing to just pop into the game when I had a spare moment, help some of my hoodies out, and potter about feeding townies and sending off boats and trucks. That's the sort of everyday farming I signed up for. And the only way I can see to get that back is to just opt out of derby long-term. Which would make me sad.