AI Energy

Click here to view the update for this announcement

Last month’s cost update and the subsequent launch of Dragon Scales as our new in-game currency have understandably worried many of you. Most of Latitude’s employees have our own examples of games we loved that introduced game-ruining payment-based mechanics, and it’s very important to us that we not replicate our own past bad experiences. We promised more details to be forthcoming at a later date, but haven’t been able to provide specifics about when that would be.

That date is today. After testing options and gathering data, we are ready to announce our plan to balance costs without enforcing unavoidable limits on play time or forcing a pay-to-play mechanic on all users. In keeping with the company’s core value of putting players over profits, we are introducing an Energy Bar for all users. Based on our initial testing, only about 7% of users should be impacted by this change, which allows as many of you as possible to continue enjoying the AI unhindered, while also ensuring that the business is sustainable.

Some of you who joined recently may have already seen a test of the energy bar, which looks like this:

For everyone else, the Energy Bar will roll out gradually to all users over the course of the next two weeks to ensure that Latitude Support staff can be available to help anybody who has trouble with it during the rollout.

Once you have the energy bar, each AI request will reduce your remaining energy. You get two free retries per request (and Undo/Redo don’t use energy), so you don’t need to worry about being penalized for AI glitches. In a Multiplayer game, only your actions cost you energy. Over time, energy will automatically recharge, whether you’re playing the game or not. Many users will never run out of energy, depending on how quickly you play and for how long. A full energy bar lets you request 100 AI outputs. If you do run out of energy, the energy bar will look like this:

You have two options when your energy bar is empty: you can wait a few minutes for it to recharge, or you can purchase more energy with Dragon Scales to continue playing immediately. The energy bar will fully recharge every 8 hours or so, but you don’t need to wait for it to be full. You can resume playing as soon as you have enough energy for the next AI output. To purchase energy with Dragon Scales or view more detailed information about your energy, you can click or tap the Energy Bar in AI Dungeon on any platform.

If you know you’ll run out of energy in a game session and don’t want to be interrupted, you can also purchase extra energy beyond the automatic refill level. This is called “overcharging” your energy, and looks like this on the energy bar:

Creating scenarios, posts, or comments does not consume energy, and can be a great way to pass the time if you choose to wait. You can also read adventures other people have published without using energy. Keep an eye out for an improved way to read and promote AI Dungeon adventures soon!

We understand that the shift to energy may be difficult for the very-active users who will be most affected by it. We’re especially sensitive to the impact of this change for Premium users. To help ease the transition, Premium users now receive 100 Dragon Scales each time your membership renews. We’re working to add more benefits, like unlimited Griffin play for Premium members, to launch in the near future. We are also planning ways to earn Dragon Scales without a purchase.

If you have feedback on this announcement or the new energy bar feature, feel free to reach out to us through support@latitude.io or by DMing us on Twitter @AiDungeon. If you have other features to propose, including energy-related features or new uses of Dragon Scales you’d like to see, check out our Feature Suggestion board on FeatureUpvote. Thanks for playing!