Ranks Downgrade - WIP
Ranks Downgrade Configuration
Ranks downgrades enable the Operator to downgrade users from their current level or Rank within the Gamification system due to decreased engagement or inactivity.
As a general setting, it will allow the Operator to decide if the current player’s status can be downgraded under certain conditions. By resetting the XP Points and Rank/Level and causing the player to drop in the Ranking system, the player is enticed to keep up their engagement to keep accumulating enough XP Points to level up or maintain their current Rank; otherwise, their status will drop.
The Operator may also choose whether players will also lose their accumulated Tokens when being downgraded.
First, the Operator must decide if this feature is enabled or not. If it is disabled, players will always accumulate points continuously, and they will never be reset, regardless of their level of activity.
If it is enabled, then the Operator must follow some simple configurations to determine how the reset will behave.
Enable/Disable Ranks Downgrade in General Settings
Settings > System Settings > Gamification
This setting is disabled by default. This means that, by default, players will not be downgraded, and they will continue to accumulate XP Points and level up normally regardless of their level of engagement or inactivity.
Setting Up Ranks Downgrade Settings
Choosing a Downgrade Method - XP Points or Minimum Activity Period
Accumulated XP Points:
The player’s accumulated XP points during the current period (e.g., this year) will be compared to the points made during the previous period (e.g., last year), and based on that, if the player did not accumulate as many XP Points as before, the player gets downgraded. This method is based on loyalty programs from airlines, credit card companies, Expedia, etc. A more detailed explanation will be given below.
Minimum Activity Period:
Minimum activity conditions are set in a predefined period, which must be met, otherwise, the status could be downgraded accordingly. If this method is selected, then two additional fields must appear, asking the Operator to determine how the “Activity” is defined and to determine the “Activity Period”. A more detailed explanation will be given below.
Accumulated XP Points Downgrade Configuration
Step 1: XP Points Comparative Periods
After choosing the Accumulated XP Points downgrade method, select the comparative period in which player activity will be measured to downgrade their status, if applicable. E.g.:
The possible comparative period options will be:
Monthly: User activity will be measured every calendar month and compared to the previous calendar month.
Bi-Monthly: User activity will be measured every 2 months and compared to the previous 2 months. The periods will be grouped in the following manner: Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec.
Quarterly: User activity will be measured every quarter (3 months) and compared to the previous quarter. The periods will be grouped in the following manner: Jan/Feb/Mar, Apr/May/Jun, Jul/Aug/Sep, Oct/Nov/Dec.
Semester: User activity will be measured every 6 months and compared to the previous semester. The periods will be grouped in the following manner: Jan/Feb/Mar/Apr/May/Jun and Jul/Aug/Set/Oct/Nov/Dec.
Yearly: User activity will be measured yearly and compared to the previous year.
Important: Keep in mind that upon closing a comparative period and beginning a new one, all XP Points are reset back to 0 and Levels back to Level 1 to start from scratch for a new comparative period. The Rank remains the same unless a downgrade occurs. This applies only when choosing the Accumulated XP Points downgrade method.
Step 2: Base for Comparison - Exact XP Points Accumulated or Minimum XP Points from Rank
The Operator will now need to determine whether the XP Point activity measured will be against the preset range of XP Points required for the player to remain in their current Rank or Level, or if their accumulated points on their current period will be measured against their exact points accumulated on a previous period.
Exact XP Points Accumulated:
The base for the comparison between the two comparative periods will be the exact number of XP Points accumulated during the previous comparative period (e.g.: 15,025 XP Points during last period), which will then be compared to the current comparative period (e.g.: 15,350 XP Points during current period), and the number must match or surpass the previous one in order for the player to retain their Level or Rank.
Minimum XP Points from Rank:
The player’s XP Points accumulated during the current period (e.g., 15,350 XP Points during the current period) will be measured against the minimum XP Points required to remain in the same Rank obtained in the previous period (e.g., min. 10,000 XP Points to be Silver). The accumulated points must match the player’s current Rank criteria to stay in the current Rank, otherwise, the player’s status will drop.
Important: Every time the player’s activity is measured and the player’s Rank is adjusted, all XP Points and Level will reset for the player to start over for the next comparative period. But the Rank must remain the same unless a downgrade occurred.
Examples
Example 1: Minimum XP Points from Rank
To illustrate how the base for comparison will behave, here is an example of a configuration based on a yearly comparative period with Minimum XP Points from Rank.
The system must compare the XP Points earned by the player in two different annual periods (for example, the current period “2023” vs the previous period “2022”). To maintain the Rank that was achieved in the previous period, “2022” for the upcoming period “2024”, the player must earn in the current period “2023” at least the minimum amount of XP Points that are required to enter that Rank. If that minimum of XP Points is not reached, the player will be downgraded.
Assuming the following Ranks configuration has been set in the Ranks Library (example):
Rank
Min XP Points
Max XP Points
Bronze
1
10,000
Silver
10,001
20,000
Gold
20,001
30,000
Platinum
30,001
40,000
A new player that opened the account in May 2022 ended the year 2022 with 25,500 XP Points, which places the player under Rank Gold (Yearly comparative period).
At the start of 2023, all XP Points and Levels from the player will be reset, but the Rank Gold will be kept throughout 2023 and maintain its benefits. To start the year as Gold in the upcoming year 2024, the player must earn at least 20,001 XP Points during the current year 2023 (minimum threshold to stay in that Rank).
By the end of 2023, if the player hasn’t earned at least 20,001 XP Points, the player will be downgraded for 2024. On the other hand, if the player earned 30,001 XP Points or more during 2023, then the player will start 2024 under a new Rank Platinum, with a new threshold to be met to maintain that new Rank.
*Note: The start/end of each year must be done according to the timezone configured for the Operator. If the Operator is in Switzerland using CET/CEST timezone, then the calendar year must follow that timezone. Similarly, if the Operator is in United States using Eastern Time.
Example 2: Exact XP Points Accumulated
Based on the same Ranking table above, here is an example of a configuration based on a monthly comparative period with Exact XP Points Accumulated.
The system compares the XP Points earned by the player in two consecutive months (for example, the current month, August, against the previous month, July). At the end of July, the player made 15,025 points and was ranked as Silver. During August, the player must make at least 15,025 points (or more) to retain their status regardless of the minimum requirement for that Rank. If by the end of August, the player has accumulated 12,000 points, the player will be downgraded, even if the points accumulated are within the range of Silver.
Step 3: Setting the Downgrade Rule
If the player does not comply with the minimum threshold to keep the Rank, then a downgrade must occur. How this downgrade is performed is managed through this setting:
Previous Rank Method:
This means that the player will be downgraded to the next lower Rank available (if any) or another Rank in the system regardless of points accumulated. Here, after choosing this method, a numerical field called Number of Ranks to Drop must be enabled to enter a positive number (no decimals allowed). This field will determine the number of Ranks the player will drop once downgraded.
Earned XP Points Method:
The player will be downgraded to the Rank that matches the actual XP Points earned in the comparative period. Based on the previous Rank table, if the player earned 7,000 XP Points during the current comparative period and is currently status Gold, then the player would be downgraded from Gold to Bronze (7,000 XP Points is within the range defined for Bronze).
Step 4: Loss of Tokens Configuration
In this setting, the Operator can choose whether downgraded players will have their Tokens confiscated alongside the loss of XP Points.
Example: The Operator configures that 100% of Tokens will be confiscated. This means that if, for example, a player with 1000 Tokens in their wallet is downgraded, then all Tokens will automatically be confiscated from the player’s account when the downgrade takes place.
Minimum Activity Period Downgrade Configuration
In contrast with the Accumulated XP Points method, where the player’s own activity defines if they get downgraded or not, in the Minimum Activity Period method it is based on a predefined condition defined by the Operator to downgrade players.
If “Min Total Bet Amount” is selected, the option to configure each possible currency is available. And if “Total Bet Count with Min Bet Amount” is selected, then an option to configure the Min Bet Amount in each possible currency is available. If the setting is Minimum Total Bet Amount, the amounts of all bets must be summed.
The Minimum Activity Period downgrade setting requires information about transactions made, however, game transaction information is only available for a brief period. For this setting, an aggregate must be created that sums up transactions made during the set period. Aggregates must start summing when the setting is set and will only sum up transactions that meet the conditions. For example, in a Total Bet Count with Minimum Bet Amount setting equal to 10, only bets that are equal to or greater than the value of 10, or the value set in each currency, will be counted.
In both cases, editing the setting will reset the aggregate.
Activity Period
It is meant to determine the period when this minimum activity must be done; otherwise, a downgrade is triggered.
Options:
Weekly: Mon-Sun in the Operator’s timezone.
Monthly
Bimonthly: Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec
Quarterly: Jan/Feb/Mar, Apr/May/Jun, Jul/Aug/Sep, Oct/Nov/Dec.
Per Semester: Jan/Feb/Mar/Apr/May/Jun and Jul/Aug/Set/Oct/Nov/Dec.
Yearly
Last [number] of Days
Example: Choosing “Min Total Bet Count” of 100 bets with Min Bet Amount of €0,20 per Bet, with a Period Monthly, if the player only completed 95 Bets with a Min Bet Amount of €0,20 in the past month, the downgrade will come into place and the player will be downgraded accordingly.
Setting the Inactivity Downgrade Rule
If a player does not comply with the minimum activity in the period previously selected, a downgrade will happen. How this downgrade is performed is managed through this setting, which is only applicable if the Minimum Activity Period has been chosen:
Level Method: This means that the player will be downgraded to another lower Level available (if any) within the Ranking system regardless of points accumulated. This field will determine the number of Levels the player will drop once downgraded.
Previous Rank Method: This means that the player will be downgraded to the next lower Rank available (if any) or another Rank in the system regardless of points accumulated. This field will determine the number of Ranks the player will drop once downgraded.
Example: if a player does not meet the minimum activity defined for the previously configured period to stay in Level 100 in Rank Gold, and the Level Method rule has been chosen with “10” Number of Levels to drop, the player will automatically drop by 10 Levels, and will be in Level 90 on the next period. If the Level 90 is linked to a new Rank, then the player gets moved to the correspondent Rank as well.
Loss of Tokens Configuration
The Operator can choose whether players will have their Tokens confiscated if the minimum activity is not met. This setting will ask the Operator if they want to activate this option and the percentage of Tokens that will be lost.
Example: The Operator configures that Tokens will be confiscated and the percentage of Tokens to be removed will be 50%, this means that if for example, a player with 1000 Tokens in their wallet does not meet the minimum activity required, then 500 Tokens will automatically be confiscated from the player’s account.These actions must also show in the logs.
For the accumulated XP Points method, Rank Up pop-up widgets must be disabled when a player drops any Rank below the current one. Rank Up pop-ups must only show when the player upgrades to a higher Rank than the current one (e.g., upgrading from Gold to Platinum). Level Up pop-ups must still always show, starting from Level 1.
Rank
Min XP Points
Max XP Points
Bronze
1
10,000
Silver
10,001
20,000
Gold
20,001
30,000
Platinum
30,001
40,000
Example: The Downgrade settings have been configured as XP Points method - yearly comparative period with Minimum XP Points for Rank. A player has reached Rank Gold with their accumulated XP Points for the year 2022; hence, during 2023, they will be Rank Gold for the whole yearly comparative period, however, they will start on Level 0, as when a new comparative period begins, all players get their levels reset. During that year’s activity, the player will level up as he or she progresses through the ranking system. Every new level acquired will display the Level Up pop-up normally.
However, as an example, at some point, the player accumulates 10,001 points, which, as per the example table above, means Rank Silver has been reached. However, the player is already in Rank Gold, and the comparative period is still running. Hence, no Rank Up notification should be displayed for the player. If the player continues to accumulate points and accumulates 30,001 points, and Rank Platinum is reached, then the Rank Up notification displays normally, as a brand new Rank has been reached.
Ranks Downgrade Feature Improvements
1. Accumulated XP Points Method
Rank Widget Behavior by Comparative Period
1st Comparative Period
Standard behavior: displays current XP Points and the amount needed to rank up.
2nd Comparative Period
Displays the target XP Points required to maintain the current rank (based on performance from Period 1).
Rank-Up During 2nd Period
If the player exceeds the XP target, the widget reverts to normal behavior, showing how much is needed to reach the next rank.
2. Minimum Activity Period Method
A new mini-widget is introduced that shows the specific activity requirements needed to avoid rank downgrade.
Appears only if this method is active.
It is separate from the main Ranks Widget.
Can be optionally displayed and positioned by the Operator.
2.1. Player Card Behavior
If the Minimum Activity Period method is enabled, the mini widget appears in the Player Card as a small section.
This section will not appear if the method is disabled.
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