Cost of expansions

[DeletedUser2753]

@Lionsmane : I do remember you did say you would adjust your options and opinion when the time came that it was warranted.

I do not think this is all just stupid greed but driven by the fact that Elvenar has not been growing for sometime. By that I mean we loose more players then join each month, and I am sure even the whales are leaving. So Cash flow sucks and with Innogames a very big spender on clicks with ads all over websites costs are not going down.
I believe this is like an Auto Dealership who's sales have slumped from competition, and to keep the store open stupidly decides to raise the price on all the cars and all mechanical work. This will fail, even with a big sale on gas, or better coffee in the waiting room.

 

[DeletedUser4417]

@Lionsmane : I do remember you did say you would adjust your options and opinion when the time came that it was warranted.

Yep and it just did, so I have.

Ladies and Gentlemen of Inno. I have to ask just what you are thinking?

The goal of a game.. ANY game is to have fun and to see that game grow in popularity. Sure you expect to have to adjust the model to make it work more smoothly and efficiently that does not appear to be what has been happening here. You have taken a model that was fundamentally sound and that previously worked and are now in what appears to be a consistent manner... breaking it.

Is it your goal to trash the game and drive off customers because if so you are on a winning track to do that. A very winning track. Game mechanic balancing changes I can understand. I can get behind that but this? This flagrant and obvious grab for our wallets?

 

[DeletedUser4936]

As i think, i'm not the only one !! i was with all of you, i don't think i will purchase more diamonds in the game ! i was thinking that if Inno will reward those who buy expansion by lower the diamond cost would be more effective and appealing, but now, cost too much to expand that way, on contrary to made money i think they'll lost as Lionsmane said too greedy ... shame, cause i really love the game !!

 

[DeletedUser43]

They are doing this because they have finally realized that the game was getting horribly unbalanced with the few spenders zooming to the top of everyone and the rest of the players couldn't compete at all. Now, they COULD have just released more space for all of us to put the game back into balance. That would have been the good way. They sell stuff for cities, don't they know. No room, no room to put the stuff they are trying to sell.

Want to see all the people screaming and telling them how unbalanced the game would be? Go look at when they released all the expansions at once in the first place. But whatever. There is only so much you can try to help. Now they are trying to undo all the damage they did and they are causing more.

Sigh.

Welcome to the club Lionsmane.

 

[DeletedUser4881]

This is the only game I have ever spent real $ on because this cost was worth it to me and I enjoyed it enough to want to help support the game but no more. Inno just cut their $ flow off from many people. A very, very bad move that does not bode well for this game. : (

 

[DeletedUser2396]

Actually - you wouldn't have been able to purchase it. Inno dropped the number of allowable premium expansions to 23 - and they cap at 8000 diamonds. Since your screen shot show 0 available to purchase - I believe that means you have purchased more than 23 premium expansions total.

As i said i paid 2000 diamonds for the last expansion which i believe would have been the 23rd so if i had waited one more day to purchase it - It would have cost me 13,500 diamonds for it - how do they justify price gouging there customers is beyond me - i would rather give Pixelmine (Ashen Empires - $100.00 for 2K in Tokens) which is a fair deal than to give this game anymore Dollars. I would give my personal Affiliate Link to that game for people to enjoy except it is against the policy here if anyone would like it send me a message and i be happy to assist.

 

[DeletedUser4576]

They are doing this because they have finally realized that the game was getting horribly unbalanced with the few spenders zooming to the top of everyone and the rest of the players couldn't compete at all. Now, they COULD have just released more space for all of us to put the game back into balance. That would have been the good way. They sell stuff for cities, don't they know. No room, no room to put the stuff they are trying to sell.

Want to see all the people screaming and telling them how unbalanced the game would be? Go look at when they released all the expansions at once in the first place. But whatever. There is only so much you can try to help. Now they are trying to undo all the damage they did and they are causing more.

Sigh.

Welcome to the club Lionsmane.

I thought the change in cost of expansions must be a mistake and posted it in the bug report. Got the "making things more fair" response. I was so angry at yet another unwanted change that reduces my options and forces me to play slower that I almost quit. Then I realized I am part of a new elite. I bought 19 expansions. Not likely anyone just starting will pay the new prices ($60 US for #20) so I should have a permanent advantage. People who started a long time ago and have all the expansions that were available then are like royalty now. No one will ever have as much territory as them. I would mock the idea that things are "more fair" except I don't think that was actually the goal. More slow and more expensive is the consistent theme of recent changes and they are being very successful at that. Ironic though that people who buy diamonds will be angry and those who don't will not be affected. Most games try to work it the other way around.

 

[DeletedUser43]

More slow and more expensive is the consistent theme of recent changes

I'm thinking that something must have happened programming wise. Perhaps they just were told that no more resources will be put into the game and they better make do with all the space they currently have? They are sure scrambling about something.

 

[DeletedUser2757]

Then I realized I am part of a new elite. I bought 19 expansions. Not likely anyone just starting will pay the new prices ($60 US for #20) so I should have a permanent advantage. People who started a long time ago and have all the expansions that were available then are like royalty now. No one will ever have as much territory as them.

It's lonely at the top. This new expansion pricing means fewer trading partners for newbies and the elite, as folks have less space to manufacture goods.

 

[DeletedUser1010]

I have bought a few expansions in the past maybe like 4 or 5 and I will NOT be buying anymore, they are just way to expensive!!! I had already stoped spending money on this game, but mainly bc I have another non Inno game I play and I have been putting my money into it bc It makes me feel like I get something for my money, Like I get a good deal when I buy. Elvenar has never gave me that feeling honestly. So at this time I am going to make a point to not spend money on Elvenar bc of this change. I just don't want to feel like I am being over charged or cheated and that's how it feels in Elvenar! It's sad really, I wish they ppl over at my other game could show Elvenar how to do it right bc they really make u feel good when spending money on their game! I get so much for my buck, and they are so nice n helpful! It puts Elvenar to shame I hate to say! I am not frustrated or upset, just going by what makes me happy and what makes me sad.

 

[DeletedUser5073]

I thought the Orc section was a poor decision. However this is bad business. With this change it seems Inno was to kill this game. One Day I have 10 t0 12 expansion for 2000 each. Okay that is still a lot of money, but now in some cities I have ZERO and others are down to 1 expansion. with cost ranging from 8500 to over 10,000. I cannot believe anyone that was sending money on this well ever spend money again. In short, you just KILLED your revenue from long term players. In the past $80.00 for ~5 expansion was high but for people who really enjoyed the game, it was okay every other month or so. But now - you will NEVER get another dollar from me.
If your goal was to get people to stop spending money - good job you did it.

 

[DeletedUser2813]

Actually - you wouldn't have been able to purchase it. Inno dropped the number of allowable premium expansions to 23 - and they cap at 8000 diamonds. Since your screen shot show 0 available to purchase - I believe that means you have purchased more than 23 premium expansions total.

actually,they dont cap it at 8000,mine is now 9000.i wont spend another penny,and i have spent a lot at this point

 

[WolfSinger]

actually,they dont cap it at 8000,mine is now 9000.i wont spend another penny,and i have spent a lot at this point

(The cap is 8500 - I misread and mistyped - apologies))

Can you actually buy one or is it showing 0 available with 9000 diamonds greyed out. If the availability is 0 then you have already purchased at least 23 premium expansions.

Even though the max that can be purchased is 23 and it does cap at 8500 diamonds for those - it appears the system is still calculating upwards based on the number you purchased prior to the change from 33 to 23 and showing a price in the box that would be based on that if you were still able to purchase another expansion.

If you have an available premium expansion and it is priced higher than 8500 diamonds you need to send a ticket to support as that price is in error based on that was posted in the wiki for the new prices. https://en.wiki.elvenar.com/index.php?title=Expansions

Even if you don''t plan to purchase the expansion - they need to correct the error for other people. I know I'm not going to drop that kind of money on an expansion.

 

[DeletedUser3312]

As I said in another thread... I truly believe that Inno raised the prices so that people would not buy them. When they released the 30 expansions, the uproar was tremendous about the game balance and how it was unfair to players that could not spend money on a game. And many people left the game. I believe this is Inno trying to fix that gross error they made in releasing all the diamond expansions. I know I bought a ton of the expansions. I can't buy anymore but even if I could, there is no way I would pay the money they are telling you it will cost. so now.. yeah.. you can buy an expansion without working for it... but you will pay through the nose if you do. I think it is a good thing. we don't need to have a bunch of diamond expansions. we need more city and province expansions. work towards them and earn them. For myself, I greatly enjoy the challenge of moving my city around.. I do it all the time just to see what it would look like if this was over here and how bout moving that over there... smiles. It's a city building game and the challenge is to place all you can in the space you have. therein lies the challenge. I do not battle. I hate battles.. I do at times in the first part of tournaments but usually I cater. I have a lot of factories, houses, and workshops, A LOT. smiles.. this allows me to cater without much problem. and that to me is just fine. I have (due to several people giving me tips and advice that was painful lol) remained in the game and now i am a really happy camper. lol. I thank all those that gave me the painful advice they did and really it did not hurt near as much as I thought it would. lol. yes.. I sold some factories. omg.. level 15 factories!!! it hurt. I won't lie to you. it hurt!! all that work gone in the blink of a click. lol. but.. it gave me the space I needed to grow and do. and I really do not miss those dust dust factories. I still have 4 and they meet my needs and more. I am loving dwarves. and the ancient grounds.. I have 7 and and deleting central places and continuing with the ancient grounds. this means major moving around. oh bliss for me. lol. so.. in a nut shell. do not worry about those diamond expansions. ignore them. pretend they do not exist. you really don't need them. My other 2 cities, I have not spent a penny on and I am going great guns in both. My tip for that. scout the tech tree and work for the tech that leads you to city expansions. then get them.. add what you need and then fill in the rest of the tech for the chapter. and of course, province clearing. I need to do more of that as I have the opportunity to get a lot of expansions that way as well. Not in Winyandor. nope.. no more scouting until I hit orcs. but.. there are enough city expansions to carry me through until I can.

 

[DeletedUser3297]

As I said in another thread....

Exactly

The price increase was done to prevent players from advancing through the game too quickly (like so many had done with the 33 expansion release). The balance between free to play and pay to win was strongly in favor of the payers. The game has been re-balanced in favor if the FTP players Some players wish to continue to play for free so it seems to be necessary to increase the costs to make it a tougher decision to decide to buy your way though.

With that said,the top players will always be payers. There are players already at the end of the Tech Tree again. To these people, 8500 diamonds for an expansion is nothing and they will gladly pay it.

 

[Devman]

I am a relatively new player in this game. I saw the add pop up in my facebook timeline and thought, Hey ive got few spair minutes, its free, what the hell. Ive always been a big Sim city fan and I really like Cities Skylines so I thought I would give it a try.

Very basic, it seemed to be a quick little mathy brain game and so it seemed appealing. I'm not unfamiliar with the "free" bait and hook browser games. They lure you in with the word "free" then as you go you find the game gets much harder to progress with out buying their "diamonds" or "tokens' or whatever. I get that, nothing wrong with making a little scratch from you coding work.

I am a 47 year old life time gamer who's seen it and played it all. From Atari to Xbox One. I was one of the first 100 Xbox live beta testers. I have built and managed FPS clans with hundreds of players from across the globe. I am a 14 year EvE online player who runs a corporation that's worth hundreds of billions of ISK. Elvenar was a "time passer" for me. When you guys talk about "competing" with other players, I don't get it. Where is the competition ?

What exactly does competing in this game mean to you? How does my having more space or an improved production line lessen the game for others? How does someone else having a FULL map filled with the best items make my game any less challenging? or less "fun" ? If anything it helps other players when I have more to offer, right ? If I wanted competition with other players I would play Battlefield or some other FPS shooter.

Please, define competition or competing with others in Elvenar. Because it seems that has been the only excuse Ive heard so far for this blatant pick pocketing by Inno games. Its like a drug dealer, first hits free, second hits $10 bucks, third hit 183.50. Its wrong and everyone knows it. Under the guise of competition?

Where is the competition? Are there free prizes for who does the best, in a week ? in a month? What am I missing here ? Please inform me. Educate me on the inner workings and benefit or reward of being the best in your .... Competitive game . Juts like everyone else, my progress, good or bad, fast or slow effects no one but me. And if i am performing well, i.e spending the time and or money it can only benefit others who will reap from my time and money, not the other way around . So again, please explain to me how my good performance or dedication or time and money spent on Elvenar decreases or takes away from some ones playing experience ?

 

[DeletedUser43]

There is a ranking list and being on top of or climbing that list is important to some people. It is one of the goals in the game and some people enjoy including that goal as part of that play.

 

[Devman]

Aaaaand there ya have it . a ranking list .... wow . Seriously ? that's why we should all pay ten times more now ? a ranking list ? How much will Inno charge me to be taken off the "ranking list" and lower their premium prices so I can actually continue to progress through the game with out putting their kids through college first . Everybody gets a ribbon . This game , for me anyways, was never about winning, It was about the playing . Unfortunately, the best parts of the game are 'for sale only, but there is no room for said parts to be played . So lets make it almost impossible for players to afford room to play the game or use the premium content, so some players don't get left behind ? and this somehow make sense ? anyone ? I fail to see the logic ... in any form or function. This is thee most bizarre business model I have ever seen ... ever . By this logic everything in the game should be Free because some people can't afford to buy any premium content , I mean , since were making it "Fair" for everyone . I'm done , you may now return to your regularly scheduled programing .

 

[DeletedUser43]

As I stated earlier, the only thing that makes any sense to me is that they are out of room. All they say all the time is they want to slow people down. That has to be for some reason we aren't privy to. It doesn't make any sense for a business to take products off the shelf that don't cost them anything. They obviously know you can't just make more money by raising prices because it also lowers sales.

 

[SoggyShorts]

So again, please explain to me how my good performance or dedication or time and money spent on Elvenar decreases or takes away from some ones playing experience ?

It's simple really, any game needs to be balanced so as not to be too easy, nor too hard but rather an appropriate level of challenge.

If players are able to get too many expansions the game will not be challenging for them and they will lose interest. The fix is to raise in game costs like supplies and goods...except that can make the game too challenging for players that don't buy expansions.

The balance INNO is looking for is one that gives paying players an easier time and to make them feel that spending money on a free game is worth it, but still keeping them on the hook. If they just gave you 20 expansions for $20 you'd grab it, build like crazy for a while, get bored and leave.
Edit: to be clear I'm saying $20 total for all 20 expansions as an example of how a game can be unbalanced. What the actual price should be- I'm not sure(but it isn't $80)

I'm not saying INNO is great at balancing, but it's how almost all FTP games work.