Poniverse Staff Fiddling & Member Badge Edits

[Princess Periwinkle 3,778]

There's also the fact that, such an argument coming up just now is completely and utterly redundant, seeing as how Unicorn has always been above the Pony and Pegasus ranks, and no one ever seemed to care before It's just brought up now because Unicorn happens to be the highest rank at the moment with the brony badges gone. To me, that seems more like an effort to try and find something wrong with something previously accepted, just because change occurred of some kind. I've found this to be rather common human nature x.x;

 

But regardless, yes, there are indeed battles worth fighting, and then there are those that aren't :3

 

 

I concur, we all know the crystal ponies are far supperior! But seriously, unicorns have always been the higher ranked badge; nothing has really changed in that regard.

Whats a bit odd to me is the dragon, why is a dragon lower than ponies?

 

Ah, something I didn't make clear in my earlier post is that this is something I've been thinking about for a long while now. The changes (and the post I quoted) only gave me an excuse to bring it up.

 

That said, there really isn't any way around it without scrapping those badges altogether which is definitely something I don't want to happen. It pretty much makes this and my last post rather pointless, huh?

 

Let me attempt to add something meaningful to the conversation. Either there's a mystery badge unlocked at 10,000 posts, or you guys should totally add one. The problem with that is: What would it be? I've thought about an Alicorn, and then changing the administrator's badges, but then that would sort of break up the Admin/Alicorn Mod/Royal Guard theme going on... Really though, if there was another badge added, what would it be?

[Batbrony 16,088]

Love the new badges!  Won't ever get to be a Dragon or Changeling, but Crystal Pony is the next rank I get to look forward to, plus I'll get to re-acquire my Pegasus and Unicorn badges that I already had (HUZZAH FOR GETTING TO REATTAIN MY WINGS!!!!!!  ).  Great choices to the staff, and great designs Jokuc!!! 

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

This looks great! New badges! The higher up badges always looked a bit to far spaced out, but they look much more exciting now! I really need to get more posts...

[~StatesTheOblivious~ 1,795]

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, our hierarchy, overall, goes from pony (or, a term for a pony, really), to items (food), to animals, to ponies (Changelings count as ponies because of their appearance). Griffon however isn't any of these three existing categories. I felt that, while the Griffon badge looks very nice, it wouldn't fit with the badge pattern we've established.

 

Tell me more about how dragons are animals and griffons don't fit in there.

 

Seriously, though, nice changes, overall. I'm not around here that long yet, but what I've seen up until now pleases me. Now there is at least one badge directly after phoenix that I want to have.

[Shift 4,277]

Yay, imma Changeling.
 

Anyway, I find it quite upsetting that i'll be demoted back into a pony, but whatevers. I still have my Changeling badge for the time being.

[Dark Horn 430]

I love 'em! Thanks for making them for us, Jokuc. I personally like Changeling the best, but Crystal Pony and Dragon look great too!

[Haven Celestii 9,385]

>new badges

UUUGGGHHH

I was so close to Unicorn.

 

So. Very. Close.

That was all I wanted in life.

My one and only true dream.

To have the Unicorn badge.

 

And yall just had to crush my dreams. ;~;

Imma go cry myself to sleep now.

 

I'm probably the only one who is legit bitching about this as well. xD

[Viscra Maelstrom 3,719]

the new badges are nice, yes, but the ranking system makes very little sense. 7000 posts for Unicorn? why must Unicorn be the highest rank for? even having Crystal Pony up there would have made more sense, giving the rarer amount of those existing.

 

and the gap becomes a bit too steep a bit too quickly.

 

there's a 300 post gap between Changeling and Pony. that's alright, that makes perfect sense and is small enough.

 

but why is there a 1500 post gap between Pony and Crystal Pony? that's a 5x increase in posts needed to acquire it.

making it a 500 post gap, i.e. 2000 posts, would have made more sense, and the rest could be evened more fairly and realistically afterwards (3000 for Pegasus, 5000 for Unicorn maybe, and perhaps a extremely high-ranked "easter egg badge" at the 7000-10000 mark).

 

----

 

i don't especially care about the badge system at all, since it's just a more visually pleasing variation of the forum ranking system. however, the way it's set up now irks me just a little bit more than it should have.

[Mephala 2,635]

I personally cannot say that I like the new badges, or at least their very order. I think Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn should be switched about with the new three added at the very least. However, they are aesthetically pleasing, so good work on that. I miss Brony, though. :/

[Crispy 5,565]

That changeling badge is fucking great.  Too bad I'm beyond it already.

 

Glad this got a boost, having a bunch of people stuck on the belt buckle after 3k was silly.

[Proton 565]

Only problem I have with these changes is the fact that no one will ever get the Certified Brony badge. It would have been awesome to praise the first one to have gotten it xD

[NavelColt 22,883]

I must say that, while I continue to see the lack of point in debating where Dragon is located, etc, I do agree it's very weird for Unicorn to be the highest rank, now. That said, I'm stumped on where to go with adding one more rank above that. The Brony badges were disliked more than liked, and they threw off the in-show theme, alicorn is used by admins so if we wanted to do that, the two staff badges might need new replacements as well; I'm not sure what could be added above Unicorn at the moment that could work well.

[SCS 7,537]

I'm glad to hear that there will be staff hired for the sole purpose of moderating the Equestrian Empire RPG, because it sounds like a big project. Expecting the regular mods to keep a close eye on that while completing all of their other duties would not be fair. 

 

As for the new badges, they're awesome. My favorite one by far is the crystal pony badge. I like @Evilshy's idea of being able to choose your own badge once you reached 10,000 posts. I'm sure others like certain badges more than the unicorn one as well, so being able to select your favorite at that point would be nice.

Edited July 28, 2013 by SCS

[Concord 1,982]

Hello!

 

For me, the most important news here, are the new badges! (Sorry staff!)

 

I really like the new badges! They are shiny, beautiful, and something I really want. The forums needed a change in something, and I think the new badges are a fun little addition. I just feel bad for the people that got demoted in the ranks.

 

Great work, great update, and a special props to Jokuc!

[Jokuc 8,176]

I must say that, while I continue to see the lack of point in debating where Dragon is located, etc, I do agree it's very weird for Unicorn to be the highest rank, now. That said, I'm stumped on where to go with adding one more rank above that. The Brony badges were disliked more than liked, and they threw off the in-show theme, alicorn is used by admins so if we wanted to do that, the two staff badges might need new replacements as well; I'm not sure what could be added above Unicorn at the moment that could work well.

 

I said so, y u no listen to Jokuc wait maybe I just thought about saying it..

 

But eh I wish the new badges were placed after the ones we already have since many people will get badges they've already earned, plus we still need a 10k one, I mean come on c:

 

Personally I think crystal pony fits where it is right now, but I would like Changeling to be moved after Unicorn I don't really know about dragon though, it kinda fits where it is ..maybe? idk

Edited July 28, 2013 by Jokuc

[Batbrony 16,088]

I must say that, while I continue to see the lack of point in debating where Dragon is located, etc, I do agree it's very weird for Unicorn to be the highest rank, now. That said, I'm stumped on where to go with adding one more rank above that. The Brony badges were disliked more than liked, and they threw off the in-show theme, alicorn is used by admins so if we wanted to do that, the two staff badges might need new replacements as well; I'm not sure what could be added above Unicorn at the moment that could work well.

 

A perplexing but also intriguing question indeed.  If I may, I think I might have a few doable proposals.  Instead of pony races, you could instead make pony titles, similar to the way the moderators below administrator are Royal Guards, some of the higher ranks.  In fact, here's a thought: what if you made it that when members reached a certain rank they could actually select a badge out of a number of options, so you wouldn't have to worry about adding a bunch of new badge ranks for different amounts of posts.  Here's a few that come to mind off the top of my head that you could put at the same rank: (1) Wonderbolt, (2) Fashionista/Designer, (3) Apple Farmer, (4) Royal Pupil, (5) Animal Caretaker, (6) Rock Farmer/Town Clown, (7) Noble, (8) Timelord, (9) Muffin Hunter, (10) DJ, (11) Court Musician, (12) Explorer/Adventurer, (13) Dentist, (14) Baker, (15) Teacher.  As you can see, here I based these options based on what the Mane 6 are/aspire to be, or what supporting characters/background ponies are popularly known for.

 

Another option that might even be more doable is that when members reach a certain rank they might select an Element of Harmony as a badge out of all of the Elements of Harmony, similar to how the BronyCon donors now have "Element of Generosity" badges.  That might even be more doable as a final rank for members to attain; I mean think about it.  Besides Royal Guard and Alicorn for moderators and administrators respectively, there's no ponies in Equestria with more unofficial authority than the element bearers, so why not make all of the Elements the final badge rank for members to attain and let them decide for themselves which best describes them.

 

I hope these ideas help.  I like the new badges, and understand why the brony badges were thrown out, but I do see what you're saying about unicorn being problematic as the highest rank for members to attain, so hopefully these suggestions might either be implemented or give the staff or some other member some ideas that might be implemented instead. 

Edited July 28, 2013 by Batbrony

[Jokuc 8,176]

A perplexing but also intriguing question indeed.  If I may, I think I might have a few doable proposals.  Instead of pony races, you could instead make pony titles, similar to the way the moderators below administrator are Royal Guards, some of the higher ranks.  In fact, here's a thought: what if you made it that when members reached a certain rank they could actually select a badge out of a number of options, so you wouldn't have to worry about adding a bunch of new badge ranks for different amounts of posts.  Here's a few that come to mind off the top of my head that you could put at the same rank: (1) Wonderbolt, (2) Fashionista/Designer, (3) Apple Farmer, (4) Royal Pupil, (5) Animal Caretaker, (6) Rock Farmer/Town Clown, (7) Noble, (8) Timelord, (9) Muffin Hunter, (10) DJ, (11) Court Musician, (12) Explorer/Adventurer, (13) Dentist, (14) Baker, (15) Teacher.  As you can see, here I based these options based on what the Mane 6 are/aspire to be, or what supporting characters/background ponies are popularly known for.

 

Your idea is okay, I don't really like it personally but I don't really see anything wrong with it. Though, I think it would be a pain in the ass to make new badges all over again, especially now when we just got some new ones. I think it will be better if we just stick to the way it is now.

[Batbrony 16,088]

Your idea is okay, I don't really like it personally but I don't really see anything wrong with it. Though, I think it would be a pain in the ass to make new badges all over again, especially now when we just got some new ones. I think it will be better if we just stick to the way it is now.

 

Probably.  I kinda like my second idea more, since it'd both be simpler and less problematic to implement, but if things stay the way they are now then that's just fine by me.  Love your new badges by the way, great designs!  Too bad I'll only get to acquire Crystal Pony out of the three of them.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,837]

I find it odd that even though you mentioned staff fiddling, I don't think most of the staff members even know how to play a fiddle.

 

Maybe I'm just nitpicking.

[Twiliscael 3,962]

I must say that, while I continue to see the lack of point in debating where Dragon is located, etc, I do agree it's very weird for Unicorn to be the highest rank, now. That said, I'm stumped on where to go with adding one more rank above that. The Brony badges were disliked more than liked, and they threw off the in-show theme, alicorn is used by admins so if we wanted to do that, the two staff badges might need new replacements as well; I'm not sure what could be added above Unicorn at the moment that could work well.

I know this would result in more work for @@Jokuc, but how about a Zebra badge? I was thinking maybe the line-up could go from Pony < Crystal Pony < Pegasus < Unicorn to something like Zebra (at 1,500 posts) < Pony < Pegasus < Unicorn <Crystal Pony (at 10,000 posts). That makes sense to me, and it does stop the idea of Unicorn being the top rank. Plus, we get the extra badge to make it 10,000 and it does make sense within the show's universe. Especially in Equestria, Zebras /do/ seem to be below ponies in the social hierarchy, too. Not too sure how open you are to the idea of Crystal Pony being the final rank, though. Personally, I like it but it's not all about me.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Twiliscael

[NavelColt 22,883]

I know this would result in more work for @@Jokuc, but how about a Zebra badge? I was thinking maybe the line-up could go from Pony < Crystal Pony < Pegasus < Unicorn to something like Zebra (at 1,500 posts) < Pony < Pegasus < Unicorn <Crystal Pony (at 10,000 posts). That makes sense to me, and it does stop the idea of Unicorn being the top rank. Plus, we get the extra badge to make it 10,000 and it does make sense within the show's universe. Especially in Equestria, Zebras /do/ seem to be below ponies in the social hierarchy, too. Not too sure how open you are to the idea of Crystal Pony being the final rank, though. Personally, I like it but it's not all about me.

 

Crystal Pony fits best after the regular pony rank to me, because all Crystal Ponies that we've seen are Earth ponies; we've seen no Crystal Ponies that are unicorns or pegasi, so it fits more there, than as a final rank. Zebra sounds pretty interesting, but it seems rather weird to have something rather random like Zebra as the final rank. Wouldn't be all that better than Unicorn.

[An Old Head 4,816]

I personally don't mind the current order. It works (Crystal Pony steps up from Earth Pony) and there's something to aim towards after 3,000 posts now. If we were going to change them around, though, wouldn't it be better to add more lower-level badges to push the higher tier badges closer together? If we chucked in badges like Alligator or Bear as lower-level badges, that would mean you could shift up ranks like Changeling and Pony a slight. Maybe something like this? All ranks up to Bunny would be the same and then go:

1. Bunny (400)
2. Bird (500)
3. Alligator (600)
4. Phoenix (800)
5. Bear (1000)
6. Dragon (1200)
7. Changeling (1500)
8. Pony (2000)
9. Crystal Pony (3000)
10. Pegasus (4000)
11. Unicorn (5000)
12. Draconequus (7000)
13. -something-

That was just a random hypothesis of mine.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Flipturn Amaterasu ツ

[Jamisonme4 0]

Yay! Even more a new brony can try to earn!!! I can't wait to get going on the adjusted badge system! I bet the staff did really good on it!

[Zygen 6,066]

Wow, Jokuc replicated the style so well.

 

I must say I think the style of the badges overall is pretty good. It also gives me something between that 7000 post gap that use to be between brony and certified brony, of course it also made me a pegasi, but I can live with that. Also crystal pony badge looks pretty awesome. Unicorn being the highest doesn't bother me that much, since i love unicorns, and it seems more reachable .

 

Of course, call me OCD, even if i'm not, but the badge count numbers are kinda odd. It feels like they should be spaced more.. you know evenly, or in like inceasing amounts, having 200 between dragon and changeling aswell as phoenix and dragon is a bit strange to me, and the fact that the unicorn badge is placed at 7000 and not even 7500 or something bugs me a little, it also bugs me a slight bit that there isn't a ridiculously high post count badge anymore, but i'd be more worried about that after I actually end up with that badge .

 

Still 7000 is a weird number to stop on

 

Go jokuc, no food for you, make more badges.

 

No but seriously overall they look good. .

[SCS 7,537]

Wow, Jokuc replicated the style so well.

 

I must say I think the style of the badges overall is pretty good. It also gives me something between that 7000 post gap that use to be between brony and certified brony, of course it also made me a pegasi, but I can live with that. Also crystal pony badge looks pretty awesome. Unicorn being the highest doesn't bother me that much, since i love unicorns, and it seems more reachable .

 

Of course, call me OCD, even if i'm not, but the badge count numbers are kinda odd. It feels like they should be spaced more.. you know evenly, or in like inceasing amounts, having 200 between dragon and changeling aswell as phoenix and dragon is a bit strange to me, and the fact that the unicorn badge is placed at 7000 and not even 7500 or something bugs me a little, it also bugs me a slight bit that there isn't a ridiculously high post count badge anymore, but i'd be more worried about that after I actually end up with that badge .

 

Still 7000 is a weird number to stop on

 

Go jokuc, no food for you, make more badges.

 

No but seriously overall they look good. .

 

I disagree about the spacing issue. I think they're spaced out fine. As you go higher up the badges, you need more posts to get the next one. That makes sense to me. That makes reaching them more meaningful. 

 

As for 7,000 being a strange place to stop, I don't think it matters a whole lot at this point. Right now, only two (real) people have over 7,000 posts. When we get to the point where there are a larger number of people who have more than 7,000 posts, then whether or not there should be any badges higher than that would become a more prevalent issue. But, until then, I don't think it's worth worrying about. 

 

---

 

As a more general statement, I've seen a fair amount of disagreement in this thread about the order of the badges. To be honest, I don't think this sort of thing really matters that much. They're just badges. They're pretty and fun to get, but it doesn't really matter what order they're in, because they don't mean anything. I say we should just leave the badges the way they are. I thought they were fine before this update, and they're even better now.