Key Quest Gripes

[Bubbleline]

I've been playing a lot of Key Quest lately to help with training for the upcoming plot. It has reminded me how fun it can be!...potentially. The game has quite a few issues and problems I see people complaining about, but there are 3 main things I'd change if I could.

 

1: The mini games would have a major overhaul. Not only would I get rid of the obvious glitches and terrible imbalances in some of the games (neogarden grow, petpet snare, and spyder scare Im looking at you) but I'd also change the availability of mini games. I have gone entire 4-player games without anyone landing on a single game which is terrible for people like me who like to play. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are people who have slow computer/laptops (yet another glaring imbalance. neogarden grow is particularly bad) that would like to avoid game altogether. I'd put in 2 new options that put in twice or at least 1.5 times the normal amount of game spaces, and an option that doesnt have mini game spaces at all.

 

2.I love power-ups. They add spice and fun to the game-play, however, there are some power-ups that I think shouldn't exist. Swap Keyring is the main one that comes to mind. I just finished a game where that little devil was played on me when I had all the keys...and the person only had 1. Somehow I ended up winning but that is still a terribly unfair power-up. It potentially allows people who aren't trying to suddenly get ahead in the game over people who have been battling it out and working their butts off. If they insist in keeping it, there should be some sort of restriction to using it. Like having 3 keys or more.

 

3. Something simple, new board layouts. We get tired of playing the same 7 boards over and over. (really it's more like the same 4 board layouts with different decorations) Somehow I don't see this happening anytime soon seeing as how the prizes from summer 2009 are still active.

 

Annnnnnywho, what would you all like to change?

[hrtbrk]

Overall, I think Key Quest is an fairly decent game.

 

There's only a few things that I would like to see changed/implemented.

 

I fully agree with you on the mini games. Some like them, some don't. An option to disable mini games, or having a room with no games would be excellent.

 

Another thing that I wish they would implement would be turning off the music but not the sound.

 

Lastly, retire some the prizes that are no longer valuable, especially for gold keys. I understand the argument that it lessens the chance of quitters, but... no... it's annoying, especially after playing a good, solid, fair game.

[karmacow]

I couldn't possibly only pick one :sick02:

 

I agree that there are entirely too many power ups that mess with the keys.

It would be great if you could opt in or out with mini games. It would be better if they would fix them so they worked for everyone...

When I played I also bugged me that you couldn't leave sound on while having the music turned off. I've lost time in mini games and had my turn skipped, because I switched to another tab because someone was taking their sweet time pressing the button.

And quitters... They deserve a good talking to.

 

But I don't really play anymore, because I got frustrated with the game.

[grandslam286]

Spyder scare is actually a pretty fair game most of the time. It's got a few hidden tricks that if you learn you can win even when your internet is slower, unlike some of the other games (especially the Esophagor one).

[~Xandria]

Yes, I agree with everyone elses posts. My number one pet peeve is the mini-games as well, there should be an option to opt out of them altogether. I doubt TNT will implement this change anytime in the near future though so I'm thinking of starting a board on here for people who would like to play KQ without participating in the mini-games. :)

[lilllisan]

I despise the minigames. I don't find them fun or amusing at all. I'm so sick and tired of them and I just don't bother playing keyquest anymore because of the minigames. So I definitely want them gone!

[siniri]

I selected "other." While I finally played a game of KQ yesterday and it seemed better, I had stopped a few weeks (months?) ago because of the glitches. I got sick of only having 1 of every 4-5 games actually finish because either I or my opponent got booted, even though we both had decent internet connections. I couldn't stand how long it took the game to load from the start (if it ever even did). And then the mini-games (which I try to avoid, but I won't if that's the way I need/have to go), which either wouldn't load at all, crashing the game, or would load full of glitches and bugs (spyderbytes not letting people's spyders go down, the memory game saying you clicked incorrectly even when you didn't, not registering clicks in the berry-clicking and nova games, giving points to the wrong player in several games...). Like I said, I played yesterday, and it was better, but over the past several weeks/months, I've had times where I could get a good game in, but most of the time couldn't finish one due to the glitches. And then to get absolute junk because TNT hasn't updated the seasonal prizes in ages... It's frustrating.

[Batman]

I have been having a lot of issues recently with mini games, although I don't hate them all together. They give an edge to anyone with a faster computer but that is understandable, someone will always have an edge. My problem with the mini games are the glitches. The last few times i have played I have lost my cursor and it is impossible to play most of the games with out them. Or when you are winning all the sudden you are just stuck. I really think Key Quest has a "randomizer" that makes it so if you have won to many games in a row that they will make you lose so many in a row. I only won one of the last 10 games I played and most of them were because I moved 1 space each time or because the other player got the magic power up at the last second.

 

My biggest gripe about the game are the power ups particularly the super key grabber. That one is absolutely the power up that makes me want to quit every time (after the game is over). There is no reason to have a power up that powerful.

[Anxious Zombie]

Sometimes I really just don't want to play the mini games. They're really sssllloooowww on this old laptop.

[crazy_cat_luv_bb]

I don't really play KQ much, so I don't know the rules, but there are 2 things I will definitely want to change (so I voted others). The first one is that mini game, I have to say that it really makes the game processes slower. Of course people want to play KQ many times to get to the day limited, but who can when they have something else to do and every KQ player turns, there's a mini games? The second thing is the board layout, which it just shows a tiny bit of the map, why I cannot see when to teleport and that kind of stuff.

[passiflora]

I agree with a lot of people on the mini games. I don't mind them, but it's frustrating when you execute perfectly and lose because someone has a faster computer than you. Also the glitches - I can't see how there's really a way to "cheat" on many of the mini games but I've seen things like a player's score still going up even though all the mud is gone in Petpet Pamper, for example.

 

 

It'd also be nice to deal with quitters but I find skipping turns to be an even bigger problem. I've lost so many games or been put at a disadvantage countless times because people skip turns to avoid dung piles, lint balls, etc. In the game I just played, a player with a Swap Keyring skipped a turn because they were right beside the door and I was going to pick up my 5th key on my next turn! Catapulted them straight home. :P

 

I don't really know how to solve those problems, though. Maybe if a turn is skipped the die just gets rolled automatically, but if the player lands on a mini game or something it doesn't go through (to make it fair for people who miss a turn because they're away).

 

 

The last few times i have played I have lost my cursor and it is impossible to play most of the games with out them.

 

I've been having this issue lately as well. It'll disappear after a mini game and won't come back until the next mini game, if at all. Very frustrating!

[Bubbleline]

I selected "other." While I finally played a game of KQ yesterday and it seemed better, I had stopped a few weeks (months?) ago because of the glitches. I got sick of only having 1 of every 4-5 games actually finish because either I or my opponent got booted, even though we both had decent internet connections. I couldn't stand how long it took the game to load from the start (if it ever even did). And then the mini-games (which I try to avoid, but I won't if that's the way I need/have to go), which either wouldn't load at all, crashing the game, or would load full of glitches and bugs (spyderbytes not letting people's spyders go down, the memory game saying you clicked incorrectly even when you didn't, not registering clicks in the berry-clicking and nova games, giving points to the wrong player in several games...). Like I said, I played yesterday, and it was better, but over the past several weeks/months, I've had times where I could get a good game in, but most of the time couldn't finish one due to the glitches. And then to get absolute junk because TNT hasn't updated the seasonal prizes in ages... It's frustrating.

Oh yea! I've noticed it being glitchy, too. Passiflora mentioned people's scores going up even after the mud is gone in Petpet pamper, Well in the fruit picker game, it didn't count a lot of the fruit in my basket until later and it slowly started going up at the end of the game when all the fruit was gone. I'm pretty sure I lost because of that.

 

Spyder scare is actually a pretty fair game most of the time. It's got a few hidden tricks that if you learn you can win even when your internet is slower, unlike some of the other games (especially the Esophagor one).

I forgot that the Esophagor mini game is also terrible for people with slow connections. But Spyder Scare is terrible to me because of how when someone is frozen, they're usually frozen for like 7 seconds which is a ridiculously long time for such a short game. And then the amount of screws you can get seem to be random so people sometimes lose a game even after freezing an opponent simply because there were no more screws/not enough screws to collect to pass up.

 

I agree with a lot of people on the mini games. I don't mind them, but it's frustrating when you execute perfectly and lose because someone has a faster computer than you. Also the glitches - I can't see how there's really a way to "cheat" on many of the mini games but I've seen things like a player's score still going up even though all the mud is gone in Petpet Pamper, for example.

 

 

It'd also be nice to deal with quitters but I find skipping turns to be an even bigger problem. I've lost so many games or been put at a disadvantage countless times because people skip turns to avoid dung piles, lint balls, etc. In the game I just played, a player with a Swap Keyring skipped a turn because they were right beside the door and I was going to pick up my 5th key on my next turn! Catapulted them straight home. :P

 

I don't really know how to solve those problems, though. Maybe if a turn is skipped the die just gets rolled automatically, but if the player lands on a mini game or something it doesn't go through (to make it fair for people who miss a turn because they're away).

 

 

 

I've been having this issue lately as well. It'll disappear after a mini game and won't come back until the next mini game, if at all. Very frustrating!

Skipping turns is something else I forgot that's really annoying. And people do it so obviously, too! Conveniently being 'afk' after having a lint ball played on them. I think forcing the roll would be a pretty good way to solve that.

 

 

 

Edit: I've also taken to writing down the names of the people I play with because the games have been glitchy and sometimes randomly disconnect people.

[marihie]

KQ mini games are far away from being nice

[dummydumpty]

Quitters (and cheaters, like people who skip a turn with giant lint ball). I don't played that much, but I hate it when it happens, it's such a waste of time for me.

[peabrain]

Totally agree with the minigames issues. KQ is less of a skill game and more of a battle-of-the-internet-connection when I play ><

 

I might be missing it (correct me if I'm wrong!) but I really wish there was a "my internet is super slow" messaging option because once the game was so slow it was practically frozen and I had no choice but to quit halfway through and I felt real bad for the other person in the game..

[Frostfire Rockwind]

I'm on the "Fix the Minigames" bandwagon, too. As one of the people with a hyperslow computer, there is no point in even pretending to play most of the minigames, and I find myself groaning whenever anyone lands on that square. Shenkuu Showers is the only game I can think of that I have a decent shot at, since the computer doesn't have to be all that fast to keep the umbrella over the petpets' heads. The rest, though? In the time it takes to tip the water can once, the game is over. My mouse doesn't even draw the lines to loop around the petpetpets, and my little robospyder moves so slowly there's really no reason for anyone to catch it with that purple goo (but they still do, and it doesn't wear off again until the game ends). And yeah, that new glitch where the cursor mysteriously disappears has been coming up, too, and has caused me to accidentally go the wrong direction or select the wrong powerup/key once or twice on the board, because I can't see for certain what I'm clicking and have to guess.

 

As nice as the extra codestones and money are, I never make ten keys in one day, and I haven't even played at all in a couple days, and it's pretty much all because the minigame issues just make it too grueling to tolerate for me. Just fixing that one thing would make it an infinitely more enjoyable experience (though I suppose there would be something to be said for a guarantee that I'm not going to turn in a gold key only to be "rewarded" with three 1NP items, too).

[b055ftw]

Quitters and minigames are the two biggest issues for myself personally.

 

However, my overarching complaint is that Key Quest is more about luck and having a fast computer than it is thought and skill as it should be.

[spazzy_child]

Totally agree with the minigames issues. KQ is less of a skill game and more of a battle-of-the-internet-connection when I play ><

 

I might be missing it (correct me if I'm wrong!) but I really wish there was a "my internet is super slow" messaging option because once the game was so slow it was practically frozen and I had no choice but to quit halfway through and I felt real bad for the other person in the game..

 

LOL I totally feel ya. I don't have slow internet but whenever I play key quest it all of a sudden is like DEATH TO QUICK CONNECTIONS! So lame. I sometimes don't even bother with the games because it freezes up if I do, I wish I could play it more but oh well.

[coltom]

While there are more than a few people that actually quit a game when it looks like they won't get a gold key, there are a few of us that have slow connections that sometimes drop the game. The last surviving player should always get at least a bronze key for his trouble, or his won np.

[peabrain]

While there are more than a few people that actually quit a game when it looks like they won't get a gold key, there are a few of us that have slow connections that sometimes drop the game. The last surviving player should always get at least a bronze key for his trouble, or his won np.

 

I thought about this but I wonder if people would start abusing the system if they can't be bothered to play but want free stuff - go into a room with a friend and bail so that they can win something. Perhaps if a person leaves the game they can be replaced with a bot that can complete the game? Would that even work?

[siniri]

I thought about this but I wonder if people would start abusing the system if they can't be bothered to play but want free stuff - go into a room with a friend and bail so that they can win something. Perhaps if a person leaves the game they can be replaced with a bot that can complete the game? Would that even work?

Or just leave the person in the game, and make the other person finish it off -- sure, it'd skip turns, but the person who left wouldn't get a key, only the player who finished it (or maybe, say, you still get a key if you only get skipped 2-3 times, so those who get booted near the end still get their key). Quitters wouldn't be allowed in a new game until the old one finished, either. I don't know if that's possible given how the game is coded.

 

For those with slow connections, do you know about the low-resolution link? You can play on medium quality and switch to low quality for mini games (right-click on the game screen, then select the quality from the menu). Medium keeps the game readable, while most of the minis work okay in low (exception: the spyder game seems to glitch more often on low) -- just remember to switch back to medium at the end-of-mini score screen. Changing the quality nearly leveled the playing field between me and a friend with a much faster computer and connection (in the garden game, she'd get 2-3 pours before I'd even finish my first one; now I can sometimes beat her).

[Doozy]

I think that the minigames are really annoying and agree with what everyone has said, but the quitters/afk thing really bothers me. I know someone with a really crummy internet connection/laptop and she pings out a lot, or her computer will crash and it'll say that she left the game. Her little face is blue because of it. I think you should be able to say something like, "my computer sucks". At the very least, you should be able to lower a graphics setting or something so that it doesn't crash/ping quite as easily if your laptop is old or your internet sucks.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Edit: I just saw that bit about low-res links, I'll have to point that out to her and see if it helps

[peabrain]

For those with slow connections, do you know about the low-resolution link? You can play on medium quality and switch to low quality for mini games (right-click on the game screen, then select the quality from the menu). Medium keeps the game readable, while most of the minis work okay in low (exception: the spyder game seems to glitch more often on low) -- just remember to switch back to medium at the end-of-mini score screen. Changing the quality nearly leveled the playing field between me and a friend with a much faster computer and connection (in the garden game, she'd get 2-3 pours before I'd even finish my first one; now I can sometimes beat her).

 

Thank you so much for this it's making my game so much easier (ie. playable)!!!!!!!!!!

[Clumsy rockyroad1]

Even with medium/low quality, I still get 85-100% CPU usage. And really high memory usage.

Total contribution of Key Quest:

70% CPU and 15-25% Memory Usage for ONLY Key Quest.

Lag in EVERY Minigame. (Yes, even wit low quality and resolution)

 

100% CPU USAGE = Horrible Lag

[Finn the Human]

I think the quitter or those who play a game with their side as a three player games need to be dealt with.