Valtitude
Active Member
Actually I'd argue there has been a steady increase in the traffic of the forum, rather than a decline.
This comment does not represent the actual majority of the playerbase. In every format that has an external forum, the forum regulars de facto represent the vocal minority of the playerbase. Given the fact that it's virtually impossible to be in touch with the entire playerbase, it's always safe to assume the vast majority is happy with the direction of the game, otherwise there would be a steady decline in player numbers. That would be signified by drastic and numerous changes to the mechanics and nature of the entire game, rather than a slower approach of a patch every couple of weeks.
Keep in mind that the silent majority is the direct equivalent to a happy customer for every gaming company. Being happy or indifferent to the direction of the game signals the company to continue doing what it was previously doing, and rightfully so, since it works.
Malfiore, I very much like the quote you've used at the bottom of your comment. You and I were once neighbors on Wyn. You were the first player on the Wyn server, I think. Moloch was second. 'Funeralopolis' was your City name, if I remember correctly. I think your City disappeared from Wyn this past summer.
Most of the rest of this Post is for Inno's developers, and is not directed toward you, Malfiore. I started to answer you and all my frustrations with the game started spilling out. I've been away from the game for at least a couple of weeks - Real Life and a chronic illness have caused this. 2016 has been a very strange year for me. I get wordy when my illness flares up. It's just the way things work.
Move the Post if necessary, please, Moderators.
Most of what I say here has been said by other players already. I capitalize words for emphasis. Text is so easily misunderstood. I need to write about what I'm thinking, I guess because I have really cared about this game and the players I've met through it.
I disagree with you, Malfiore, about comment traffic on the forums being a sign that the vast majority of players are happy with the game. Many players don't write on the forums and most never will, but they message one another thru and off the game.
I agree, relatively new players are seemingly happy with the game, but early on, Elvenar focuses on Exploration. Players who've been around for a year or more are not such happy campers. I know a number of once highly ranked, enthusiastic Elvenar players who've quit the game completely. I'm not playing now and am deciding whether or not returning to Elvenar is worth my Time and Energy (and Money?) I was once highly ranked on Wyn and was working my way up the Aren ranks. I look like Alice in Wonderland, plunging down the Rabbit Hole (rankings) now. Ha!
I have a number of frustrations with this game I once loved ...
- Diamond spending is probably first among my frustrations. Players spending their way through the Tech Tree and/ or replenishing Troops during Tournaments is a problem. Why explore and share your experiences with how you succeeded through some Branch of the Tree or whatever, with your fellow players when, 'Heck! I can just pull out my bank card and get past this!'? So, to be a top ranked player, you need to spend $$$$+ on Elvenar?! Thousands of Dollars, Euros etc ... yes, 'thousands' is the number I wrote. I know what I spent last month and it didn't make a dent in my progress thru the Tree or my ranking. I've known players who've spent a thousand Dollars in a month on Elvenar - one player told me how embarrassed they were when they realized they'd spent so much. eik.
If they're spending Diamonds, advanced players don't have to communicate with one another to ask 'how did you do this?' Why Chat when you can just spend Diamonds to get thru a challenge? Early in the game - whether that was a year+ ago or now, Exploration and sharing experiences brought players together. I'm saying spending is killing enthusiasm for Elvenar. It is for me - there's no sharing of knowledge like there used to be. I've certainly spent more than I'd like to on this game! I'm hearing the same from other experienced players who care about the Exploration factor and are Achievers - those thinking of quitting and those who've quit already.
- Update bugs happen with any software. I'm not concerned with this game problem so much. Inno seems to get to the nagging problems fairly quickly, even though some keep reappearing. They're BUGS afterall - ha! That's just part of software development in my Real World experience. Of course fixing a bug is important when it impacts the game, but most of 'em ... meh. Inno's pretty good about this, imo.
- Weekly Tournaments are a problem. I know I don't want to fight all the time. I know many players who've quit Elvenar or are thinking of quitting - who don't want to fight nearly as much or as often as the Tournaments require. I'm actually pretty good at fighting, but I don't want to spend my Life Energy and Time in Tournaments! I'd join FoE if I wanted to fight - or join one of the tank or battleship war games or something. Blek, Inno! Fightin' ain't fun fer a lot of us play-yers, Inno!
Why, exactly, do players 'choose whether your focus will be on fighting or building factories' in the early Tech Tree? This may have been a development idea a long time ago, but it isn't the way Elvenar has worked since I joined in June 2015.
- I enjoy the Contests. More, please!
- I joined Elvenar to build a city and manage resources. Posts outside Elvenar on game evaluation sites, say all of Elvenar's cities wind up looking alike - well, they do, sadly. It's difficult to be unique except where players place buildings. I can get past the lack of uniqueness, at least for the most part. I can't get past the 'I want to run my City and manage resources as circumstances in my City change' idea, though. This is a problem. What happens in Elvenar at night? What happens when a natural disaster hits my City - like a big heavy snowstorm, flood or earthquake, for instance?!
- I miss the fellowship and friendliness among players that used to exist in Fellowships. Requiring one another to do Visits every day has become a repetitive chore, is non-nonsensical and is becoming destructive to the game. These visits once allowed players to meet one another and watch each others Cities grow and change. The Visits helped build the Fellowships and camaraderie among players. Yes, the boosts for Supplies and Residences are great!
But now, "if you can't 'be here for Visits every day, you're NOT welcome here anymore!" Players are being guilted by Fellowships into believing they have to be on the game every day for these Visits - even if player's Lives demand they can't be on the game every day. Good luck finding a fellowship that meets the needs of your City, but doesn't require daily Visits, too. Ouch! The effect of fewer Visits slows players down, but hey! Maybe they'll spend more Diamonds, eh?! idk
There's something fundamentally wrong with this Daily Visit equation/ idea. Advanced players have grown past the need to visit other Fellowship players, but the nature of the Visits haven't grown with 'em. I don't have a quick solution for this, but I have been and am willing to continue, to think it through for a better solution suggestion - if anybody cares.
Thankfully, there are Archmages and Mages who realize players have Lives to Live. Thank you, Varron, and others I won't mention here for privacy reasons.
Time will tell ... for now, Real Life demands my attention.