HP Community > General Discussion > Post Reply
Associations!
  Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly!September 1st, 2013 1:09:57am 4,333 Posts |
As everyone knows, we have been trying very hard to make clubs and associations more active because they're a good community feature and there's a lot of potential in them to create more activity on the game and keep people online for longer playing and entering contests and such. However, it seems like no matter what we do, people still aren't interested. And I think a lot of that is to do with the fact that we have both clubs and associations and there's just not a big enough market on the game to support both. So for awhile now the staff has been thinking of ways to make them more different from each other, and asking members on surveys and in forums topics, etc. But no one seems to have any good ideas when it comes to associations. So, this has been running through my mind for awhile, but it should obviously be a community decision, how would you feel about just getting rid of associations? If you're unsure, here are my thoughts: 1. With no associations, there would be more incentive to run for president in the clubs, which would mean more competition and more activity. 2. They obviously need to be redone anyway, but we have no solid ideas, and not having them re-programmed leaves a lot money open for other features to be revamped (like the graphics auction) or things added in. 3. For current association owners, there would always be the option to keep the ones you have, or maybe we could offer you some sort of compensation to give it up. I don't know. If you think they should not be taken out, please let me know why you think this. I am listening to all suggestions. Also, if you're in favor of them staying, how do you think we could boost activity in them? If you think they should be taken out, do you think there should be another upgrade feature to replace them? Please let me know and discuss below! |
 Midnight Velvet Friesians September 3rd, 2013 10:22:56pm 123 Posts |
I like the Associations a lot. I joined partly because of the associations. And I would rather have Breed and Discipline Associations. And I like the registration and shows for them. This is more like real life with Associations. The Clubs are a lot more work and time consuming and really you don't see clubs in real life for horses. Its all associations for every thing. I joined cause one day I want to be able to run my own association. I do agree that there are way too many associations owned by the same person. Its crazy. No one else has a chance. You should only be allowed 2 associations. Also perhaps when the association is made they should be set up with the breeds that will be registered in the association and that would make it so even the owner can not just accept any horse at will. If its for Arabians or Arabian subtype like Polish that means that the owner can only accept Polish and points would be up to them. If its a discipline club then research the breeds that are most commonly found doing that discipline and limit to those breeds only or it could be a point limit instead and the owner can not change it and accept any horse below a certain points to age ratio. Really I think clubs should be made to be way more prestigious. Like in order to register in a club your horse needs some sort or certain award. So that means we need a really good award system for animals. Being registered in a club should give value to an animal because it means that they have accomplished something great. Like Grande Prix in Dressage or something like that. Also horse associations and dog associations should be separated so that you can not register a dog in a horse association or a horse in a dog. |
 misa・chesapeake bay retrievers September 4th, 2013 1:41:40am 4 Posts |
I agree with a lot of different points being brought up in this thread, and I'm not really sure what I have to add except that I would miss my association but I guess I wouldn't be totally heartbroken to see it go.. I definitely think associations are a big draw for HP though, as a few people have mentioned.However! I think one of the main things that I have always wanted for associations (which would make them different from clubs!) is SELECTIVE MEMBERSHIP (and I don't mean anything elitist by that). If you actually had to "apply" to be accepted into an association, I think that would encourage players to be a little more engaged with what was going on.. Like the Breeders Almanac, where you can't register animals without being listed as a breeder first, etc.I also think the idea of putting associations on trial, like new breeds, is a good idea! Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the registry/shows idea. I can see doing away with the shows, but maybe in their place there could be some type of bonus for animals that were accepted into an association's registry? Then again, the registries are set by the owners, and many of the current registries are quite lax, so. I'm not sure. @_@ |
Audacious & Blitz [Andalusians] September 4th, 2013 1:08:50pm 558 Posts |
"I think one of the main things that I have always wanted for associations (which would make them different from clubs!) is SELECTIVE MEMBERSHIP (and I don't mean anything elitist by that). If you actually had to "apply" to be accepted into an association, I think that would encourage players to be a little more engaged with what was going on.. Like the Breeders Almanac, where you can't register animals without being listed as a breeder first, etc."Well if they went to players pages that would be totally possible...because membership would be Riding Buddies and the owner of the account can select who and who isn't their riding buddies. |
Blitz -- Stellar Gypsy Vanners September 4th, 2013 6:50:27pm 1,309 Posts |
Awesome point, Lemo!Honestly, at this point I can only think of good things that would happen from associations not being "official" and instead only being on player pages.1) Adding in a "message all stable buddies" button would be really easy, and way cheaper then having to re-code the associations.2) Like Lemo said, that would make it easier for associations to decide which people they want to include.3) You can make one about anything you want, as long as it's within HP's rules - no more being rejected because Blitz doesn't agree with what you proposed. :P4) You get complete freedom with how active you want to be. It would be YOURS, so you won't find it suspended for inactivity.5) Way easier for you to let people in to be co-owners with you. Now you wouldn't have to let them onto your main, which might be riskier, but just onto the account you made to hold the association.6) no more people running associations just for shows. I know many players are annoyed at how people took advantage of the system, but now you wouldn't have to worry!7) Worried about your points with no more association shows? Either Sam can allow clubs to make more shows in a week, or just add in some extra public shows. Either way, you won't be losing points because of this.8) Pages have the events section, making it easier to track donations.9) If you still want a show just for people in your association, just do it on an upgraded account and use a private show.Just my thoughts!What do you lose by them not being official?- a really long complicated list where your association gets lost in- registry, which really means nothing other then the animal getting to enter association shows, so it's not really a huge loss- Messaging all members, but like I said, Sam can get a "message all stable buddies" thing added, which would negate that.So the only, ONLY thing I think you'd really see is that you'd have to advertise a little bit more to make sure people actually see it to know of its existence. Is that a bad thing? Wouldn't advertising more, getting more people to see it and wanting to be a part of it be a good thing? |
 Mobius // is admiring her new layout with her TBs September 4th, 2013 8:15:57pm 316 Posts |
Don't you think that associations being on player pages would bring up fights due to players copyin other players' "association" ideas and other things like that?I just don't think havig them on player pages would be a good idea...that's jut me though. |
 aphrodite September 4th, 2013 8:19:54pm 102 Posts |
Okay, so here are my thoughts.On HL there were 'associations' or clubs which were hosted on an account. When I came to HP I thought that it was really neat that there was actually an association page. 1; it listed all associations in one place and 2; it is linked to your account so it is so much more convenient than account hopping back and fourth. I thought it gave HP that little bit more of an edge, having the same effect on me that the graphic auctions did.I don't think you should revamp associations and I dont think you should remove them. The beauty of it is, that if a player does want to get involved with associations, they can. If they don't, that's fine. If you want to be an owner, no problem. It's chilled out. It's not a disadvantage and if anything, it's an advantage.No participation in contests? That's the name of the game. Mostly everyone on this game is an adult. So no, you most likely wont have an extremely popular contest for your own acct let alone an association. That's just something you have to expect when owning an association.In conclusion, I think that there is no need to spend money revamping. It's just a cute little extra feature to the game and although, I don't participate much in associations, I would not like to see them go. |
BANNED September 4th, 2013 10:59:07pm 2 Posts |
I like the associations and do try to enter the contests..i dont enter the graphics contests tho as I cant make graphics (im a lousy cutter lol..I also like being able to enter their shows..points for the most part are better than public shows..as to getting rid of the clubs, most of mr club registrations are dressage and show jumping..im really hoping they get picked up in associations.one of the things i dont like about assoc is that it takes so long to get registered |
