The purpose of our queues is to allow players to acquire unique pets, and to spread our artist resources out as fairly as possible over the many players who like to acquire unique pets.
Our three queues are the custom, edit, and sprout queues. The custom queue allows players to create a unique pet; the edit queue allows players to make small- to medium-sized changes to their unique pet; and the sprout queue allows players to order a unique offspring of an existing geness.
In order to spread our resources over as many players as possible, our queues have specific mechanics. All our queues are first come, first served (artists don’t skip orders), and a player can only have one order at a time (i.e. you can’t be in more than one queue at a time). Additionally, the sprout queue has an extra mechanic of a 2-month wait time after you get a sprout, during which you cannot re-enter this queue. This waiting period exists because we are trying to prevent the build-up of a long queue.
Being associated with a maximum of one order at a time means that while you have an active order (in holding, in the queue, or claimed) or are on the 2-month sprout order wait time, you are not directing another player to go through the queue for a custom, edit, or sprout that you are paying for (directly or indirectly) and eventually receiving.
Why might someone try to get around the queue mechanics? The majority of players who enter queues are “regulars” who frequently re-enter the queues to acquire multiple customs and/or sprouts. The queues require a lot of patience because you are likely to wait at least 30 days to get through any of the queues, and you can only be in one queue at a time. If you have a lot of customs, edits, or sprouts planned, it can be frustrating to have to wait a long time to achieve all of these goals, and it might be tempting to try and shorten some of the wait time involved. In the past, players have managed to find workarounds to this waiting in ways that, while not utilizing bugs, glitches, or hacks, are nonetheless still exploitative.
Is getting around the queue mechanics against the site rules? To answer this question, look no further than Section 9: Exploits, cheating, etc of the rules which states: “Any intentional action which results in you having an unfair advantage over other players is considered exploiting the site.” Getting around queue mechanics gives a player an advantage over other players who are in the same situation, but who are using the mechanics as intended. A player who is getting around queue mechanics can multiply their unique pets acquisition power, using up artist resources that should have been distributed more widely amongst players. A simple test is to ask yourself: “Is this fair to other players? Am I using the feature as intended?” If the answer is no, you’re likely exploiting a mechanism. So, in short: yes, it is against the rules to circumvent queue mechanics.
Specific examples of queue mechanics exploitation. This is not a comprehensive list of what is not allowed, but will hopefully provide you with solid examples of the types of behavior that are not allowed.
- Trading your pet to another player and having that player go through a queue with the pet while you’re in a different queue is not allowed.
- Trading your pet to another player, having that player enter the sprout queue with the pet, trading the pet back to your account, and receiving the resulting sprout after the 60 day trade wait period is not allowed.
- Using another player to order yourself customs (i.e. you ask a player to put in an order on your behalf, and you also pay for the order) while you’re in a queue as well is not allowed.
What is allowed?
A player may gift another player a custom. Receiving a custom as a gift means you aren’t the one paying for it, and the custom does not go back to the gifter’s account. However, keep in mind that we have created the PP system in order for players to help others get customs while keeping in line with the purpose of our queues. PP gifting is, by far, the preferred method of gifting.
It is the player’s obligation to gift customs responsibly and not suspiciously, as there is an enormous difference between a) gifting a custom that is six months old to a player who has no or few unique pets, and b) “gifting” multiple customs to the same person while that person is also in different queues. In the second instance, it looks like the player is getting around queue mechanics in a sneaky way, and it will be investigated. Again, ask yourself: “Is this fair to other players? Am I using the feature as intended?”A player may gift another player a sprout, but it is the obligation of both parties to follow site rules. If a player uses this to exploit the sprout queue mechanisms, the player may be banned from the queues or restricted from trading unique pets for a period of time.
- If a player does not own pets from a particular geness but wishes to have offspring from that geness, the player can temporarily receive a pet from the geness and enter the sprout queue using the pet in order to receive and keep a sprout from that particular geness. This is fine so long as no one is using this as a method to get around queue wait times and the player has permission from everyone involved in the geness.
Mycena Cave requires that the order details are filled in so that artists can make an informed decision before they accept an order. If the order details are not filled in by the customer, our queue comes to a halt since the artists listed on your order cannot claim or move past the order.
To prevent this from happening, please fill in your order details promptly. To make sure orders are ready to go, orders will be reviewed when they near the front of the queue; if there are any issues with your order details, you will be contacted before your order reaches the front. If you are at the front of any of the artists’ queues and still do not have your order details filled in, your order will be taken out of the queue and placed into holding so that you can fill in the order details at your leisure without holding up the artists.
The custom, edit, and sprout queues all have differing procedures and rules. These guides aim to inform customers on what to expect from the ordering process, alleviate confusion, and answer common questions. Read through the guide relevant to your queue before placing an order!
The custom order guide is located here!
The sprout order guide is located here!
The edit order guide is located here!