hold on new traits - what do y'all think?

[Ivy Norsk]

I agree it would be helpful if traits retired approximately equaled traits introduced. I say "approximately" because I wouldn't want KittyCatS to tip their paws and inadvertently reveal how many new traits there were in that way.

A side observation about new traits, auctions, and breeder's style of getting the new traits. I am still unboxing scarecrows. I do about 4 at a time in waves. I am going to auctions and the new traits are up for auction and people are saying, "Oh My Goodness! Why is nobody bidding on this new eye?! This price is insanely low for a new trait!" But of course I'm not going to bid on that eye or whatever - I might have it sitting at home and just not know it yet. Many many (most probably) people do not buy 25 LEs (or more) and unbox them all on the day when they come out. That size of a Cattery can be prohibitive to run. I know the people who do it in bulk are doing it so that they can hit the big bucks right out of the gate for highest return, but there seems to be a kind of blind spot that not everybody is breeding in bulk that way, and there really is a delay for purchasing the new traits until people know whether or not they Have them.

[Kayleigh McMillan]

And I like to add to this I don't want a new pretty eye pulled with a reci, unworkable.
That's why I don't buy them, sorry.
I am the customer of a careful breeder who takes the time with breeding them.

Cognac is so pretty I'd buy that eye without a second thought if it was a pure eye even though my starters may hide it and I don't know it yet

[Vrem Vaniva]

I thought KittyCats did a nice job with "rationing" the new traits in this last set of new releases, the Fall-O-Ween kitties. Yes there are lots of new furs and eyes, as well as other intriguing new traits, but some of the eyes are exclusive to this Limited Edition. So they'll be a special group, analogous to "The Fruit Eyes" or "Gerbera Eyes" , which never lost their appeal or became too common, or like "Crystal eyes".

Also, the Fall-O-Ween LE's weren't left out for sale for an extremely long time -- to me that indicates that KC has been listening to what community members have said about keeping the exclusives exclusive, maybe protecting some of the "rareness" of the Fall-O-Ween's limited-edition traits, and helping their Special Baby offspring to hold their value for collectors.

But when will we find a new shade? How long has it been since Blush was discovered? Two years, right? Two and a half years. Is this the end of the line for Shades, or.... ?

[Ivy Norsk]

I suspect it may be difficult to come up with new shades that work with a lot of furs without looking strange or bad - like subtle tints. There's a limited use or desire for a kind of green-tint cat, for instance. A very pale yellow might add some warmth on some furs, but on others just look bad, like yellow teeth. Perhaps other are more creative than I am though at thinking of what a good new shade would be.

[Shamu077 Resident]

(11-18-2014 08:55 PM)Vrem Vaniva Wrote:  Also, the Fall-O-Ween LE's weren't left out for sale for an extremely long time -- to me that indicates that KC has been listening to what community members have said about keeping the exclusives exclusive, maybe protecting some of the "rareness" of the Fall-O-Ween's limited-edition traits, and helping their Special Baby offspring to hold their value for collectors.

Fall-O-Ween LE's were sold from Oct 10 to Nov 6, 28 days, at the main store. That seemed like a long time to me, during which sales of bred cats at secondary sims collapsed. The special baby offsprings are already selling for about 1000, which is less than the cost to buy the 2 LE catboxes and make one yourself.

I feel from looking at shops though that fewer bought the LE cats this fall than last year - judging from the fewer LE kittyboxes for sale at cost in the secondary market.

[Vrem Vaniva]

(11-18-2014 09:17 PM)Ivy Norsk Wrote:  I suspect it may be difficult to come up with new shades that work with a lot of furs without looking strange or bad - like subtle tints. There's a limited use or desire for a kind of green-tint cat, for instance. A very pale yellow might add some warmth on some furs, but on others just look bad, like yellow teeth. Perhaps other are more creative than I am though at thinking of what a good new shade would be.

Good point! Kitties with green teeth, eww!
The Blush shade came out before SL introduced the Materials features in the Texture-editing pane ...
Maybe Materials aren't widely seen because people's viewer-settings vary so much.

But there are some really nifty things you can do now, that couldn't be done before, using the "Shiny" and "Bumpy" features -- you can actually put something like a floral texture on the Shiny and have only this floral pattern be extra-shiny. (Oh, or you could have floral bumpiness, ewww again.)

I thought maybe KC could make a new shade that somehow used Materials on the texture ...

But you're right, ... and KC won't release something that risks looking strange or bad ... and the Materials deal is still pretty iffy, as to how things look on various viewer settings.

[Kayleigh McMillan]

Yes, the new materials settings may contribute to more possibilities.
I think it is possible although everyone does see it different that is basically no change from how people see the current shades differently depending on their viewer settings.
Since Illume caused me to wear sunglasses in my cattery I found that neat setting in which I could change the amount of glow from the default 2 *ouch* in 1.
My cats with Illume and Glitter looked like radioactive kitties before.
My eyes are ever so greatful for that setting I found in Firestorm

[Icestron Resident]

Yes Shamu I had a similar observation.

(11-18-2014 11:20 PM)Shamu077 Resident Wrote:  

(11-18-2014 08:55 PM)Vrem Vaniva Wrote:  Also, the Fall-O-Ween LE's weren't left out for sale for an extremely long time -- to me that indicates that KC has been listening to what community members have said about keeping the exclusives exclusive, maybe protecting some of the "rareness" of the Fall-O-Ween's limited-edition traits, and helping their Special Baby offspring to hold their value for collectors.

Fall-O-Ween LE's were sold from Oct 10 to Nov 6, 28 days, at the main store. That seemed like a long time to me, during which sales of bred cats at secondary sims collapsed. The special baby offsprings are already selling for about 1000, which is less than the cost to buy the 2 LE catboxes and make one yourself.

I feel from looking at shops though that fewer bought the LE cats this fall than last year - judging from the fewer LE kittyboxes for sale at cost in the secondary market.

[Arwen Swordthain]

I don't think we need a hold on new traits, what I do think is more need to be retired as new come out so we don't get overloaded.
I also think that instead of having 4 releases, 8 collections between October and March that the collections and new traits released with them should be better spread out over the year.
My Xmas kitties birthed on release day are still actively breeding the day the Easter Collections are released, my valentines and birthday cats are also only 45 days old. The addition of 4 Easter collection kitties means I now have 14 starters in my cattery.
Not everyone can have that many starters in one go, not everyone can afford them again so soon.
And before you all yell that I don't have to buy, you are right I don't, but how many of you won't buy at least 1 pair as soon as you can?
We are breeders and we all want a chance at the new traits. NOw we will have 7 month wait until Halloween.
Much better to have 4 evenly spaced releases. A summer collection might even help with that slump we see every year.

[Oselkhandro Resident]

Good grief, to me (and maybe to others who are new to this hobby), ALL the traits seem new! I honestly don't know yet which eyes, ears, tails, etc. are the ones I should seek. Sometimes, I find out that the furs or eyes that I love are really OLD. At the moment, I am entranced with Beach Blue and Shamrock, which are probably unexciting for those of you who have been doing this for years. Anyway, I love the new traits AND I love the old traits! Its all fun for this neophyte.