How do Gacha machines work?

[VonWulfen]

Hello all.

I am at the Ex Machina store. I came to get a few items but wanted to try the Gacha machine first. I paid the 50L but nothing at all happened?

Decided to hold off buying the items I came for in case it takes my money but does not provide the goods.

[Lindal Kidd]

If you pay a gacha machine, it should deliver a random selection from its contents.

If it didn't, and you are SURE that it didn't, contact the store owner and inform them of the problem.

DO NOT throw good money after bad by trying to play that machine again!

[cheesecurd]

The math is more complicated but in simple terms what it does is run a script that randomly selects a number, usually a high range of numbers.

say 1-1000, 1-600 or so will net a common roll, it rolls again and the number will then correlate to an item in the common list.

So you roll 550, then 230 or something. If there’s 4 items then 1-250 is item 1, 251-500 is item 2, 501-750 is item 3 and 751-1000 is item 4.

On the first roll it Works for each tier with a smaller and smaller range of numbers for each tier of rarity, a common may be 1-600, uncommon could be 601-850, rare could be 851-980, and then the ultra rare would be 981-1000.

Then as above, it rolls again for the specific item as whatever numbers correlate to it.

There are other things that make the items limited sale, won’t copy after a certain amount of wins or only stays around for a limited time, so there’s a finite supply.

Its a lot more complex than that but that’s basically how most of them roll an item you win.

With this being SL, if there’s a problem with the scripting then you might not get anything, machine borked. If there’s a recorded item pay out history then the owner will be able to check the transactions and times and see if you did or didn’t get an item, they can refund you or potentially give you what you won if the script for the roll worked and the payout didn’t.

 

[MoiraKathleen]

14 minutes ago, VonWulfen said:

but nothing at all happened?

Also, double check your inventory.  I've found that depending on the gacha machine setup, the item may go directly into my inventory without any visible notification to me.  Click on the "Recent" tab in inventory, and check in any new folders that you can't identify as something else, and also check the contents of the "Objects" folder for the item (in case it didn't come in it's own folder).

ETA: If you're sure it's not there, then follow Lindal's advice and contact the creator (check their profile to see if they have a preferred way to be notified, or if they have a CSR they want you to go through).

Edited March 4, 2020 by moirakathleen

[VonWulfen]

8 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

If you pay a gacha machine, it should deliver a random selection from its contents.

If it didn't, and you are SURE that it didn't, contact the store owner and inform them of the problem.

DO NOT throw good money after bad by trying to play that machine again!

Many thanks. I cant even use the machine again. There are no longer any options when I  try to click it.

[VonWulfen]

9 minutes ago, cheesecurd said:

The math is more complicated but in simple terms what it does is run a script that randomly selects a number, usually a high range of numbers.

say 1-1000, 1-600 or so will net a common roll, it rolls again and the number will then correlate to an item in the common list.

So you roll 550, then 230 or something. If there’s 4 items then 1-250 is item 1, 251-500 is item 2, 501-750 is item 3 and 751-1000 is item 4.

On the first roll it Works for each tier with a smaller and smaller range of numbers for each tier of rarity, a common may be 1-600, uncommon could be 601-850, rare could be 851-980, and then the ultra rare would be 981-1000.

Then as above, it rolls again for the specific item as whatever numbers correlate to it.

There are other things that make the items limited sale, won’t copy after a certain amount of wins or only stays around for a limited time, so there’s a finite supply.

Its a lot more complex than that but that’s basically how most of them roll an item you win.

With this being SL, if there’s a problem with the scripting then you might not get anything, machine borked. If there’s a recorded item pay out history then the owner will be able to check the transactions and times and see if you did or didn’t get an item, they can refund you or potentially give you what you won if the script for the roll worked and the payout didn’t.

 

Many thanks. It most certainly took my money. I can see it in my transactions tab.

[Mollymews]

12 minutes ago, VonWulfen said:

Many thanks. I cant even use the machine again. There are no longer any options when I  try to click it.

if the gacha is not working at all now then something has gone wrong with the machine. It might need to be reset. Contact the store owner and let them know

Edited March 5, 2020 by Mollymews
now now

[Marianne Little]

Gachas aren't easy. If you see something you like, see if that is "RARE" or "COMMON". Gachas is set to give out, let us say 1 rare per 8 commons. But since it is random, you can get the rare on first try, or ten, twenty, thirty pulls... and sit with a bunch of commons you did not want.

To get rid of their doubles, people resell gachas. As on the Marketplace and some gacha resell markets inworld. 

If you want a common, try to search for exact that name on the Marketplace. You can often get it for pull price, or maybe pull price x 2.

Sometimes people dump 2-3 year old gachas for even less. Rares does not get dumped like that, but you can find some good offers. Use the Marketplace filters. For used gachas, you want to filter only Transfer on the left side, and price low to high.

2 gachas that sell to very favorable prices comes from 8f8. Try to type in that on the Marketplace. I do not sell anything there, so I am not doing marketing for myself... but it's some very cheap items to find. 

It is a gacha section on the Marketplace. Do not use it, use "all". It is a lot of gacha outside of that category.  IIt is too late for me to explain why... lol. It just is.

[Pussycat Catnap]

22 minutes ago, VonWulfen said:

Many thanks. I cant even use the machine again. There are no longer any options when I  try to click it.

Did you buy this in their mainstore or a gatcha resale mall?

Try right clicking the object and taking it.

It might be that you bought a resale gatcha - which tends to mean you bought the thing right there in front of you, and not something from a vendor. If it doesn't look like what you want but you can take it - go rez it at home and see if there is anything inside of it...

[Ivanova Shostakovich]

Also, check to make sure the person you paid money to is also the actual gacha owner. There are cases where someone is able to sneak a transparent object over a vendor. The user then can unwittingly pay that person in error, receiving nothing. 

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

Those things are like loot boxes or lucky boxes used in some MMOs. They usually rely on a RNG (Random Number Generator) and considered a rip-off.

[Janet Voxel]

They used to be a fun way to spend small amounts of left over L$. Then unscrupulous creators started taking advantage of people’s addictive personalities doing things like putting whole outfits with like 23 different pieces in 64 different colors, which meant the odds of you getting a matching outfit were zero or would end up costing you thousands of L$. 
 

Strangely, that’s when they really got popular. Furniture makers started doing no copy items, then there started being whole fairs devoted to grifting residents. Then people started reselling their items on MP which led to MP being flooded with junk, often pushing what you were looking for to page 5-10, because the first few pages were gatcha items.

It seems to be finally falling out of favor and people are throwing prims over them to take your money and not even give you the item.

 

Avoid!

[Lindal Kidd]

3 hours ago, janetosilio said:

It seems to be finally falling out of favor and people are throwing prims over them to take your money and not even give you the item.

This comment deserves a little more explanation.  What Janet is talking about is a scam that is not necessarily limited to gacha vendors, but can be perpetrated using ANY sort of vendor.  Here is how it works.

The thief makes a transparent prim and places it over a vendor (or a gacha machine).  When a customer right clicks the vendor and chooses "Pay", they think they are paying the vendor, but they are really paying the thief's transparent prim.

This is actually a very rare occurrence; most stores are on "no rez" land and is often set to return objects owned by unauthorized people.  However, if there is rez-enabled land nearby, or an "unpacking area", the thief can rez his evil prim and drag it into position.

How to detect it:  I don't usually go around investigating vendors, since as I said the scam is very rare.  But you can look for transparent prims by hitting CTRL+ALT+T.  If you see one, inspect it to see if it's owned by the same person who owns the vendor.  If the owner is someone else, notify the store owner.

You might also notice something amiss if the confirmation notice you see when you click "Pay" mentions the name of an avatar other than the store owner.  Although this is not a sure sign of trouble, it may be a sign that further investigation is needed.

[FairreLilette]

3 hours ago, janetosilio said:

It seems to be finally falling out of favor and people are throwing prims over them to take your money and not even give you the item.

 

 

Yes, what Lindal said.  It's a scam but all vendors not just gachas are susceptible to this.  

Many inworld sellers were notified via certain groups but I don't know if all were alerted.  And, the inworld sellers I'm speaking of do not sell gachas nor have a machine but just an ordinary every day vendor.  

It's a terrible, terrible thing.  

Edited March 5, 2020 by FairreLilette

[VonWulfen]

15 hours ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

Did you buy this in their mainstore or a gatcha resale mall?

Try right clicking the object and taking it.

It might be that you bought a resale gatcha - which tends to mean you bought the thing right there in front of you, and not something from a vendor. If it doesn't look like what you want but you can take it - go rez it at home and see if there is anything inside of it...

Yes I was at the main store. It really put me off using such things again.

[Lindal Kidd]

3 minutes ago, VonWulfen said:

Yes I was at the main store. It really put me off using such things again.

Don't be put off.  Just don't try paying that particular machine again (or anything in that particular store, if you are the paranoid sort), until the owner tells you the problem's fixed.

These sorts of things can also be down to occasional glitches in SL.  When something peculiar happens, it's a good idea to check on the grid status blog page to see if LL has announced any problems or outages.  https://status.secondlifegrid.net/

[FairreLilette]

1 hour ago, Lindal Kidd said:

The thief makes a transparent prim and places it over a vendor (or a gacha machine).  When a customer right clicks the vendor and chooses "Pay", they think they are paying the vendor, but they are really paying the thief's transparent prim.

This is actually a very rare occurrence; most stores are on "no rez" land and is often set to return objects owned by unauthorized people.  However, if there is rez-enabled land nearby, or an "unpacking area", the thief can rez his evil prim and drag it into position.

I have one land where everything rezzed and trying to be placed onto the land can only go so far.  If it goes past my land, it sends the object right back to the land.

It's great...no more objects flying out the door.

Why can't all land be set like this?  Where you have your rez space but the object will be sent back if it goes beyond the limits.

As far as having to hit control + alt + t, it's a nuisance to have to keep checking that nothing is placed in front of my vendors which are some for gacha and some for non-gacha items regarding this scam which actually pays another person inworld.  

[VonWulfen]

Quick update. The store owner was most gracious and resolved the issue immediately. Fantastic customer service

 

[Janet Voxel]

2 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

This is actually a very rare occurrence; most stores are on "no rez" land and is often set to return objects owned by unauthorized people.  However, if there is rez-enabled land nearby, or an "unpacking area", the thief can rez his evil prim and drag it into position.

How to detect it:  I don't usually go around investigating vendors, since as I said the scam is very rare.  But you can look for transparent prims by hitting CTRL+ALT+T.  If you see one, inspect it to see if it's owned by the same person who owns the vendor.  If the owner is someone else, notify the store owner.

You might also notice something amiss if the confirmation notice you see when you click "Pay" mentions the name of an avatar other than the store owner.  Although this is not a sure sign of trouble, it may be a sign that further investigation is needed.

You’re right about it being rare. The problem is the last times it happened at a couple of fairs, maybe a month or two ago. While it might’ve been a couple of machines at a fair, it has the potential to effect a lot of people.

[FairreLilette]

12 hours ago, Kimmi Zehetbauer said:

Those things are like loot boxes or lucky boxes used in some MMOs. They usually rely on a RNG (Random Number Generator) and considered a rip-off.

You should look at my Gachas just for looking as I give a lot in almost every box...some items are one item only...but most boxes have quite a lot of items that I think my re-sellers could make more than I do!  I'm serious.  

I consider it a prize like in RL...put some coins in a machine and a surprize prize comes out...you don't know what is going to come out of the machine in RL.  

With Gachas, it's a great, inexpensive way to decorate for a short time or perhaps like one season and then ditch it or resell it.  That's how I look at it for my customer's....have it one season, then start over with another decor next season.  It's so low cost, a customer could do that.  That doesn't mean all your items have to be Gacha but it is a very inexpensive way to stretch your decorating budget and especially for alts.  

I have three Gachas right now and I was wondering if I could put them all into one machine and call it a Super Gacha...that way a customer could start with a mix of items from all three Gachas but I didn't know if that was allowed...but it sounds more like a prize giver than a Gacha.  

You can't beat Gachas for a low cost way to decorate a club or for party favors.  For party favors, I usually buy the wearables like crowns, bunny ears, etc, and companions and give those out.  You can't give out bunny ears for a party if it's not a Gacha because most stuff is not transfer.  

Gacha has it's good stuff and bad stuff just like anything in RL or SL.  

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by FairreLilette

[AdminGirl]

A lot of gachas aren't really that cheap. I'd rather pay for a fatpack than risk paying to own multiple copies of the same item. But maybe I'm just not a gacha kind of person.

[FairreLilette]

1 hour ago, AdminGirl said:

A lot of gachas aren't really that cheap. I'd rather pay for a fatpack than risk paying to own multiple copies of the same item. But maybe I'm just not a gacha kind of person.

It depends on how you buy.  Plus, I should have said I'm mostly talking about the re-sale market.

Here are Half Deer Unicorn Horns and Ears you can get for 15 to 20 linden each and there is a lot listed.  

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?utf8=✓&search[category_id]=&search[maturity_level]=GMA&search[keywords]=half+deer+sweet+dreams

And, there here is another one for garland flags for parties - tons in the 14 to 25L range.  

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?utf8=✓&search[category_id]=&search[maturity_level]=GMA&search[keywords]=anc+happy+end+park

I buy Gachas as low as 2 linden inworld.  It depends on who you know though.  

*****************

Gachas are not for you if you don't want to re-sell or trade unless you're buying on the resale market and want a few you may see in an inworld Gacha resale store or on MP.  Why would you want duplicate items from a Gacha machine if you don't sell or trade?  You have to belong to the inworld groups to list your Gacha sale or for a trade.  

There are scarce Gachas that are not cheap.  The majority of Gachas are cheap.  Speaking re-sale market here. 

Added:  The Gacha market became over-saturated with some Gachas when Gacha was at it's peak for events and they never or almost never retire.  My Gachas are limited edition Gachas only and every single one of them will retire.  My first Gacha was only a 6-month limited edition.  My 3 new Gachas are also going to be limited to this year only but I do not give out the exact retirement date but they will retire some time this year.   

Gachas from machines are really for people who belong to the re-sell or trade groups.  If you don't, buy one item as the OP did and receive a surprize if you like the Gacha.  I never throw money at machines.  

Also, check the secondary market first before buying a Gacha from a machine.  If it's a Gacha where there is a glut of them you may get the item you like for 10-30 lindens.  Gacha is not over but it is going through a glut of way too many because the seller's did not retire their Gachas so I can find 70 pages of just one Gacha game on MP.  

Another good thing Gachas on the secondary market can be good for is photographic props because they are so inexpensive due to a glut of them.  You can get such inexpensive photographic props this way.  If there is a glut, why not save some money for some other things you want that are copy/mod.  

Edited March 7, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Blaise Glendevon]

On 3/4/2020 at 11:57 PM, Kimmi Zehetbauer said:

Those things are like loot boxes or lucky boxes used in some MMOs. They usually rely on a RNG (Random Number Generator) and considered a rip-off.

They are not considered a rip off. You get an item in each box, and you can sell or trade them for what you want. 

[AdminGirl]

7 hours ago, FairreLilette said:

It depends on how you buy.  Plus, I should have said I'm mostly talking about the re-sale market.

Here are Half Deer Unicorn Horns and Ears you can get for 15 to 20 linden each and there is a lot listed.  

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?utf8=✓&search[category_id]=&search[maturity_level]=GMA&search[keywords]=half+deer+sweet+dreams

And, there here is another one for garland flags for parties - tons in the 14 to 25L range.  

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?utf8=✓&search[category_id]=&search[maturity_level]=GMA&search[keywords]=anc+happy+end+park

I buy Gachas as low as 2 linden inworld.  It depends on who you know though.  

*****************

Gachas are not for you if you don't want to re-sell or trade unless you're buying on the resale market and want a few you may see in an inworld Gacha resale store or on MP.  Why would you want duplicate items from a Gacha machine if you don't sell or trade?  You have to belong to the inworld groups to list your Gacha sale or for a trade.  

There are scarce Gachas that are not cheap.  The majority of Gachas are cheap.  Speaking re-sale market here. 

Added:  The Gacha market became over-saturated with some Gachas when Gacha was at it's peak for events and they never or almost never retire.  My Gachas are limited edition Gachas only and every single one of them will retire.  My first Gacha was only a 6-month limited edition.  My 3 new Gachas are also going to be limited to this year only but I do not give out the exact retirement date but they will retire some time this year.   

Gachas from machines are really for people who belong to the re-sell or trade groups.  If you don't, buy one item as the OP did and receive a surprize if you like the Gacha.  I never throw money at machines.  

Also, check the secondary market first before buying a Gacha from a machine.  If it's a Gacha where there is a glut of them you may get the item you like for 10-30 lindens.  Gacha is not over but it is going through a glut of way too many because the seller's did not retire their Gachas so I can find 70 pages of just one Gacha game on MP.  

Another good thing Gachas on the secondary market can be good for is photographic props because they are so inexpensive due to a glut of them.  You can get such inexpensive photographic props this way.  If there is a glut, why not save some money for some other things you want that are copy/mod.  

Thanks FairreLilette, you've got some very good advice 🙂

I only go to secondary markets now; rolling just makes me nervous 😌

[FairreLilette]

9 hours ago, Blaise Glendevon said:

They are not considered a rip off. You get an item in each box, and you can sell or trade them for what you want. 

The only thing that could be a rip-off is when a link set of several items as one prize is sold bit by bit.  In the flag garlands I show in my post above for Happy End Park, the flag garlands are a link set.  Some people put one piece of a link set on MP or in inworld stores instead of all the pieces.  This is a problem.  It takes patience with link sets 'because' you can find the whole link set at a very low price on the secondary market 'but' you have to know the actual name of the original boxed Gacha because the name of each piece could be different.  

Okay, so I actually want the Flag Garlands for a Welcome Home party I'm having and I want a low price.  Now what is the name of the link set ones.  Okay, I just purchased the Flag Garlands with the longest name hoping that is the one with the link set.  It arrived.  I unboxed it.  And it is the whole link set.  

Here you will notice one with a shorter name for 15 linden....that could be the one that is only one piece of the link set.   Look for the names that there are the most of because that is probably the whole link set.

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?utf8=✓&search[category_id]=&search[maturity_level]=GMA&search[keywords]=Happy+End+Park

The chicks from Happy End Park you get a whole link set of Chicks for one price but some people will sell one chick at a time which is fine if the buyer is not disappointed that they didn't get the whole link set of Chicks.  It looks like most of the chicks have been taken off MP as it's Easter now or are very high priced. 

Link sets can be a challenge.  

For my Gachas that have multiple items...I took a picture of each prize showing all what comes with that prize number which are free to use for a vendor or MP.  

Many also offer exchanges for a copy/mod version.

If I had an easy terminal I could find that changes your mod/transfer prize to a copy/mod one I would get one.  

I offer an exchange for a copy/mod version but at an additional price because I didn't want to be barraged with IM's for a trade to copy/mod due to time issues.  I need a terminal that can do this for me.  

And, you're welcome Admin Girl (sorry I can't seem to quote your post).  

Many Gachas are in a glut and you can buy them super cheap...great for alts, party favors, photography props, all kinds of things.  Some are not in a glut though and these were most likely the earlier ones that were not advertised for the events.  

Here's a pic of the garlands now in my inventory...you can see the actual prize is a link set.  Anc tends to be one that has a lot of link sets.    

Edit:  I just bought the Happy End Park Chicks in Natural.  They are not a link set, they are linked.  However, since they are mod, people must have been unlinking them and selling them one by one.  I have bought one chick before so I know they can be unlinked.

For the most part though, sellers are very fair.  Occasionally, even copy/mod items are a dud....they don't work, etc.  Those you can look to reviews though.

It has been asked that all transactions on MP are available for review.  Ebay does this.  You can review or leave feedback even if it's a one item deal on Ebay.

 

 

Edited March 7, 2020 by FairreLilette