Quests & Chapters, An Observation

[DeletedUser]

or something like that.

A musing, maybe.

While this is about Elvenar, and I could have put it in "General Discussion", there is the potential for it going waaaaaaay off-topic, and I don't need anyone hollering about it. Plus, I didn't think it necessarily warranted being there.

Spoiler

Sorry, felt the sudden need to be silly.

So anyway...

I'm just wondering what I did "back in the day" that was different from what new players are doing now.

Shortly after I started playing, we got "Menhirok's Duty". In my Beta city I didn't finish the event, but I did in my first city here. When we got "The Charming Tree", I didn't finish here, but I did in Beta. There was little over a month between QLEs and I was brand new to the game, pretty much; I'd only been playing maybe two months when the first of those QLEs came out. Separate cities, but I finished them both, and without the aid of a Fellowship. I'm not a genius, I'm nothing special, but it seems to me that new players now are having a harder go of Events.

I don't get it.

Has this game become so much more difficult and I just haven't noticed?

 

[DeletedUser5800]

Has this game become so much more difficult and I just haven't noticed?

Short Answer: Yes

Longer Answer: They have been slowly tweaking everything towards more effort for less rewards since the the first event they ever ran... and I mean everything. This is almost a dif. game than when I started. Many major game metrics have been changed and most new developments are geared towards slowing everyone down.
Theories abound as to why, most commonly greed is brought up but that doesn't actually fit. If it were just about $$$ they would add more space for the top 10 to buy more magic buildings that already have a maxed grid of all premiums (Though this could just be a technical difficulty they have no choice in until they switch from Flash to HTML5).
I think more to the truth is that they underestimated everything. The amount people would play, the speed they would progress, the time they would put into learning the tricks, etc. They started with a fun little game to poke at and then the gamers came in and blew that to pieces.
They have been trying to balance it since and everything they do to try and make it more of game to us makes it ever more difficult for new comers that didn't get the long adjustment from what it was to what it is. We have done a 2 yr tutorial to play what it is now... they get 2 weeks.
They may rectify this flaw with thoughts of diamonds and they aren't even wrong to do so. The hard truth is anyone coming in now that wants to get everything done the way we do is going to have spend in places we didn't. That is just the nature of time vs. money.

 

[DeletedUser3507]

No like button but +1

 

[DeletedUser]

@Lord Draconian

Thank you for that clear and concise answer. After reading the issues @TheTickTockMan and so many other newer players have been having, lately it's really made me wonder what has changed. Yeah, I've had trouble here and there in the seasonal Events in certain cities, but I attributed that to the rebuilds I've done in those cities that may have put them a bit behind.

So now I have a better idea, and I appreciate that.

 

[shimmerfly]

And another "like button" here.
Good question and answer!
I tried to start this event without using the spoilers ( I'm just now beginning Dwarves ) and I won't make it.
It was just an experiment to see what happens to all the players who don't get the wonderful Spoilers you guys/gals post or don't know about GOK.
If I was a new player without any of that knowledge, my thoughts are it would be extremely hard. Especially if your not able to log on often.
So I give a big thumbs up to the new players who really put in the effort. It must be disappointing if this is your first mini event.

 

[DeletedUser]

@shimmerfly Very good point, and I'm glad you shared.

 

[DeletedUser5800]

Hey while you're making observations or looking for them, I have another one.
Is anyone else experiencing a generally less civilized player base? Different age range perhaps?
The entire time I have played this game I have had many a disagreement, debate, even complete falling out, had to remove people from FS and all that, but in that entire time it was always civil. Everyone maintained some amount of basic respect. I'd only even heard of one time when someone went off the deep end and trash talked someone like this was a prison yard.
Until about a month ago...
...I have in the last month had multiple people go full filthy mouth, berate people, and make it apparent they have zero respect for anyone.
Did I just have a lucky run or is the class of player in decline?
The app./ads bringing in foul mouthed youngsters?

(I seriously have to resist the urge to reciprocate way more often than I should)
(It is becoming a problem with the whole escape into a better place mindset)

 

[DeletedUser]

Did I just have a lucky run or is the class of player in decline?

I'll go with state of decline. I don't think it's so much the app or ads bringing in the nasty trash-talkers, but rather it's a general state of disrespect. I think part of it is a side-affect of the anonymity of being online; they can say horrible things to other people, they can do whatever they want, and there's nothing anyone can do to them. But then, people in real life act like that anyway. They don't think it will ever catch up to them, and if it does, everyone else is to blame.

 

[Ashrem]

It only takes one person to make it seem like there is a pattern.

 

[DeletedUser12553]

We just had this very discussion in one of the fellowships I am in. One gamer said he has played for 2 years and had time to build up a large surplus of resources because there were no events at first and some buildings rewards were phenomenal and those rewards have since been eliminated (He mentioned the Orc Sphere {?). I started when the Fall event was ending and I never seem to have enough goods, supplies or land no matter how many hours I spend doing the shorter production time to yield a higher volume of goods; I also enhance quantities with the enchantments to no avail. For the current event I won both buildings in only one of seven worlds. (I am on a PB btw). I enjoy the game but it is very frustrating at times. Fortunately we have a strong fellowship and the "big guys" help us newer players out with both advise and goods. Have fun everybody. See you in the glen...or the forest...

 

[DeletedUser13002]

Interesting question, answers, and discussion.

I think it's just a problem of evolution. It started as a game with a few chapters, no events, no guest races, no instants, none of the bells and whistles it has now. These days the devs have to maintain and continue developing a game that involves people working their way through 12 different chapters of staggeringly differing difficulties; offering satisfying content for paying players as well as the non-paying ones; coming up with enough new material to keep things interesting; tweaking new-but-still-somewhat-broken activities in a way that makes a broad enough base happy; providing new building designs and variety for what is inevitably a limited expansion space, and so on, and so on, and so on.

And in the course of broadening this spectrum, they've created a player base that occupies its entire length and breadth ... and all of them, depending on where they are in that spectrum, want something different. Everybody knows you can't keep everyone happy all of the time, but this has become such a wildly variegated palette that it has become impossible to please even most of the people most of the time. And ultimately, everyone playing the game wants every aspect of it aimed specifically at pleasing them—and when it doesn't, everyone gets vocal about it. Imagine if the devs were able to create 5 different events or adventures or player strategies, each one tailored to make things satisfying and fun for a different 20% of the audience. That covers everyone, right? The result of such a scenario should be that 100% wind up being satisfied. But it wouldn't work like that. Instead, they'd wind up with five different activities that piss of 80% of their audience, all of whom would feel the need to say something about it each of the four times they found themselves outside the prime target zone. So instead of 100% satisfaction, they're faced with 400% negative reaction. What would you do if you had to solve a problem like that?

Of course, everyone has an answer to that question ... but it's funny how (again) everyone's ideas on how to improve the game focus entirely on their own perspective and strategy for playing it. Faced with a puzzle that's impossible to solve on all fronts—ironically brought about by the success of the game they've created—I think the devs are just shrugging and deciding to build activities focused on pleasing the mid- to high-level players, the group that's shown a commitment to the vision and has been around the longest. Someone who started up back in the easier days and who is now one of those higher-level folks won't have noticed the gradual changes, and will most likely enjoy the challenge these activities present. Newer players will inevitably gripe that these things are too tough, but they're designed primarily for fellowship-active participants who understand how to get what they need from a wide range of sources. I think this is the best way to go, too, because it encourages people to become that kind of player in order to succeed.

That doesn't mean the devs always get it right along the way, though. FA 3 was an overreaction to the suggestion that the Adventures were too easy; they turned around and made it an Everest for too many people as a result. But they corrected it again in FA 4. They're getting the messages. They want at least to try to appeal to the widest audience possible. It's not a problem I'd like to be faced with myself....

Is anyone else experiencing a generally less civilized player base? Different age range perhaps?
...I have in the last month had multiple people go full filthy mouth, berate people, and make it apparent they have zero respect for anyone.
Did I just have a lucky run or is the class of player in decline?
The app./ads bringing in foul mouthed youngsters?

Welcome to the interwebs. The trolls always find you, no matter how much you try to keep things utopian. I haven't encountered many like this yet, but then I've been in the same fellowships for a long time. It doesn't surprise me that they're starting to pop up.

 

[DeletedUser3507]

Welcome to the interwebs. The trolls always find you, no matter how much you try to keep things utopian. I haven't encountered many like this yet, but then I've been in the same fellowships for a long time. It doesn't surprise me that they're starting to pop up.

So true, if there was a like I would definitely give you one.

 

[DeletedUser5800]

I've been in the same fellowships for a long time.

I have too on my main city and have only had a couple of people be what I would consider just down right over the line of an acceptable reaction to almost anything. But in smaller cities and smaller FS's it's happened a lot. Perhaps it is just that they turnover more smaller newer players faster, and perhaps that has worsened in the past months with the app. broadening access but it really comes down to interacting with more apples causing more interaction with the same ratio of bad apples so to speak and not an increase in percentage. I did neglect to consider that I had added 2 more cities in small FS's and that was were the influx centered. Maybe it was always worse in that regard towards the lower end, the upper levels having weeded those types out for the most part.

 

[NightshadeCS]

And another "like button" here.
Good question and answer!
I tried to start this event without using the spoilers ( I'm just now beginning Dwarves ) and I won't make it.
It was just an experiment to see what happens to all the players who don't get the wonderful Spoilers you guys/gals post or don't know about GOK.
If I was a new player without any of that knowledge, my thoughts are it would be extremely hard. Especially if your not able to log on often.
So I give a big thumbs up to the new players who really put in the effort. It must be disappointing if this is your first mini event.

I think I hit the middle, here. I didn't start right at the beginning, but I am not new, either.

For a while, I went along without any "spoilers." BUT, I have been playing video games of all sorts for a lot of years and have no guilt about using walkthroughs and strategy guides. So, when I got to a point in building my city where I thought some outside input would be valuable, I just started Googling. Found GGoK, as well as a few other helpful websites, and did some major reconfiguring based on some very good advice.

As is only natural, I was unable to complete a lot of the event quest lines early on. Luckily, though, there are prizes that you can get without full completion, and I was happy with that. Once I found the spoiler guides, I could pick and choose the buildings that would work best for me and save my keys, or essence, or whatever, to try for the ones I really wanted.

To me, it doesn't seem that important whether or not the events are more difficult. There is enough going on in the regular game for people to work with. As long as we aren't hitting new players over the head with the fact that things used to be easier, I don't think they would know the difference. When I began, I just assumed that I needed to grow my city and improve my strategy before I could complete these event questlines. And, sure enough, I was right. Now, I have no trouble completing all the quests with usually days to spare.

 

[DeletedUser1946]

Hey while you're making observations or looking for them, I have another one.
Is anyone else experiencing a generally less civilized player base? Different age range perhaps?
The entire time I have played this game I have had many a disagreement, debate, even complete falling out, had to remove people from FS and all that, but in that entire time it was always civil. Everyone maintained some amount of basic respect. I'd only even heard of one time when someone went off the deep end and trash talked someone like this was a prison yard.
Until about a month ago...
...I have in the last month had multiple people go full filthy mouth, berate people, and make it apparent they have zero respect for anyone.
Did I just have a lucky run or is the class of player in decline?
The app./ads bringing in foul mouthed youngsters?

(I seriously have to resist the urge to reciprocate way more often than I should)
(It is becoming a problem with the whole escape into a better place mindset)

 

[DeletedUser1946]

Fortunately, we haven't had any nastiness. There's a bit of whining but hand holding helps that. So far the game as been very positive with good leadership in the fellowships I've been in. It's a full time job keeping active players, though.