Disney Dreamlight Valley: Dreamsnaps
So, Disney Dreamlight Valley came out with something called Dreamsnaps. It is a weekly photo submission competition to earn free moonstones. This has pro's and con's, but this was-to me-one of the first unique things this game did. But, like anything else regarding this game, there was not much explained about it.
Before we even get to the ability to do a Dreamsnap, this will start with Venellope's quest. She is glitching and you take a photo and submit it to "fix" her and that starts your dreamsnap journey.
So on Week 1, Dreamsnap Wednesday's, you get a prompt. It will either be a Decoration Challenge or an Outfit Challenge. I noticed a trend where it alternates Decor one week, then Outfit the next week. There will be 2-3 Mandatory tags you have to hit, and 2 Suggested tags. You can sort furniture or clothes by the tags. Every system has a different button for this, but I myself play on Nintendo Switch. Once you are ready to go-you take a photo and click "Submit Dreamsnap". There is also a Dreamsnap Tab in the start menu.
On Week 2, you vote for the submissions you like best. There is no limit to how many votes you cast, you will look at 2 photos and click which one you like better. The minimum amount of voting will get you 50 moonstones per week.
On Week 3, you get your results from that particular challenge in your mailbox (in game). You will get a score, based on how well you hit the mark for the mandatory/suggested tags, and a ranking based on people's votes. The rewards are varying amounts of moonstones and pixel dust. The pixel dust adds up and helps you level up from level 1 to level 10. There is a reward at every level, with a big trophy at level 10. At the time of writing this, I am at Level 9.
The catch is this is ongoing with a new challenge coming weekly. So on any given week you are voting on something, while submitting something else, while receiving the results of something else entirely. So I started keeping track of what challenge was what, the scores, and my submissions. It is possible to send the photo you are planning to submit to your phone, but you need to do so after you take it but before you submit it. Once you take a photo, there is now way to look at previous photos taken to send it to your phone. You send it by way of scanning a QR code.
Now, at the time of writing this post, and since I have been playing since the beginning of the prerelease-I have done 32 dreamsnaps. One would think that by now, I might know what I am doing? If you ask my mom, who I help each week with the submissions, I am a great dreamsnap teacher. But my scores are all over the place, so I decided to look at the numbers and see what a proper analysis would tell me.
For me, I treat every dreamsnap as if its both decor and outfit, hoping that will help my score. One of the problems is, one part of the "win" is objective and the other part of the "win" is subjective. I also have played this since the beginning, which means I have a fully decorated Valley-there is a limit on how many items you can have and I am under it but just barely, but its not like its a baren wasteland. Also, you can not have any "Touch of Magic" items in your photo. No custom creations can be seen or unseen, this goes for clothes or furniture. Having characters from the Valley in with you seems to help, you can also do different poses with different animals when in camera mode. The premium shop changes on Wednesday's as well, save up for the good stuff there.
The Proof is in the Numbers:
I logged my results on a note on my phone, emailed them to myself, and put them into a google sheet. Here is what I found:
For combined outfit/decor
I average a 45.47 score
I average a 56,914 ranking
I average 554 moonstones
I average 139 pixel dust
For Outfit alone,
I average a 48.12 score
I average a 54,096 ranking
I average 646 moonstones
I average 142 pixel dust
For Decor alone,
I average a 42.99 score
I average a 59,556 ranking
I average 468 moonstones
I average 137 pixel dust
My Best Dreamsnap:
My best submission is Winter's Here (#24). An outfit challenge, 77.59 score, 11,114 ranking, 2500 moonstones, and 178 pixels.
My Worst Dreamsnap:
My worst submission is Arendelle's Showcase (#25). A decoration challenge, 26.72 score, 85,353 ranking, 300 moonstones, and 127 pixel dust.
Best Decoration Dreamsnap:
My best one is actually one earlier, but I was not saving them at the time. The one I can show is Holiday Cheer (#21). Decor challenge, 56.87 score, 58,567 ranking, 600 moonstones, and 157 Pixel Dust.
Worst Decoration Dreamsnap:
The worst one is It Came From Outer Space (#27). Decor Challenge, 23.85 score, 59,242 ranking, 300 moonstones, and 124 pixel dust.
Best Outfit Dreamsnap:
While my best submission ever is already posted, I will show this one that was my higest ranking one. A Day at Disney (#22). Outfit challenge, 57.46 score, 15,289 ranking, 1500 moonstones, and 158 pixel dust.
Worst Outfit Dreamsnap:
My worst one is not saved, maybe a good thing in retrospect? But I will show you Under The Sea (#20). Outfit challenge, 32.46 score, 85,575 ranking, 300 moonstones, and 133 pixel dust.
Tips:
No touch of magic items
Make sure Decor and Outfit are on point
Bring in characters
Pose with pets
Buy clothes and furniture, you never know when you are going to need what.
Pay attention to the premium shop, you never know when you could use the stuff there.
Hoard supplies to be able to make stuff at a crafting table to be able to use for photos.
Decorate the valley, within the limit.
Use all the options in the camera: poses, shot types, filters, frames.
This was an interesting dive into whether or not the system is rigged or what I could do better. If you want to look at your own scores, take a look at your mailbox. What tips and tricks would you add to this post?
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It's interesting to think about how, to me at least, Dust and Killer are like mirror versions of each other.
One who joins a villain enthusiastically, jumps at the chance to leave his past behind and have a purpose again, and the other who has to be dragged in, would rather rot in the consequences of his own actions.
One who needs orders, needs the distraction and the action and the thrill, can't sit alone with his thoughts for too long lest he hear them clearly, and the other who can't bring himself to ignore the ghost over his shoulder, would rather sit in place and listen to his own self loathing parroted back at him than stand up and find a way to drown it out.
One who doesn't associate with his past anymore, that wasn't me and I wasn't him, and cannot stand the thought of going back from where he came, and the other who wants nothing more than to be his old self again but feels so strongly that he doesn't deserve to return to the life he tore down himself.
They both wear their new names like dog collars, but one is a gift given by someone else because he's theirs, he has somewhere he belongs that he's expected to return to, and the other is a choker tying him to a post, warning others of his danger while never allowing him to get out of arm's reach of his past.
And getting them both back-to-back while trying to understand mortals was probably enough to give Nightmare whiplash
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