but the one area I am firm on is the Cost structure. This portion was bad as it introduced a "Structural Scarcity" into the game that only creates more of a "Have versus Have not" or simply put "the rich against the poor"
The addition of SF as a Currency creates the "structural scarcity" that is extremely detrimental to the game on par with an ELE asteroid, such as that even a glancing blow is the end, so, best to make it miss totally.
The imbalance is exactly what you see in famine-ridden countries like in Africa, and often leads to civil unrest.
The reason for my post is to expand, not refute Astram's quotes.
Have the chgs lead to "civil unrest" , Yes.
Were the cost chgs "bad" , Yes.
Did the changes create imbalance, even though the
stated goal was to "rebalance" , Yes
Expanding this further, to me, begs a few questions .....
1) Why are things never designed for certain things, then
used for those very things ?
2) At what point does breaking the players's trust , in
ingame purchases, ultimately hurt Elvenar ?
3) In a game where the progression of a city is basically
Jenga, meaning everything players do, is based on what
they've already done..... Why then are "foundational"
decisions, being rendered pointless/endlessly maluable ?
4) Was the reason really rebalancing, or was it revenue
generation, including draining players's accts of what Inno
incorrectly assumes is a glut of buildup in players's cities ?
5) Why if Aws are being upgraded too quickly, is the whole
game slanted so much in favor of constantly dumping
KP/AWKP into AWs.
6) Why doesn't Inno understand, that to the playerbase ....
if the only way to add new content, is chg the whole game,
that will cause many ppl that like the current game to leave,
or very vocally complain, magnify'n this issue so even more
ppl realize what possibly is "actually" going on or foster a
belief in conspiracy theories.
I've been here quite a few years (ugg), and in that time I've
seen numerous times where Inno says XYZ, then does ABC.
Infact it seems the norm around here, not the exception. I'm
not a PHD in game design/coding, but there are those out
there. Not only can they look @ a game and make some fairly
accurate reasons why a part of the game does this/that, but
they also will tell you, just as in a lot of situations, there's always
more than 1 way to do anything.
I do have the equiv of a AA in Programming from the 80's.
I also have created games, and am a big fan of game design
in/of itself. Some things can be retrofit, some need redesign.
When anything is chg'd enough, it becomes its own product.
When a game is so intertwined where a chg somewhere means
a change everywhere, especially games that are a defacto
pyramid... where everything is built up, on top of whats
already there, its very hard to chg some things without making
a whole new game.
Lets say you actually had a pet and your choice is either a dog
Or a cat. A dog doesn't need a litterbox for example, nor do
most ppl buy a scratching post for a dog. While you might get
your pet for free, as time goes on most pet lovers invest in
"stuff" for thier pet.... Its human nature, if 4 yrs later, you are
not allowed to have a dog, and all that stuff you spent good
$$ on becomes worthless, for a human to be very upset. If
you live in a complex that chgs rules and cats are no longer
accepted.... those ppl don't switch to dogs, they are replaced
with dog owners.
Inno needs its playerbase, and its playerbase needs Inno.
Current mgmt seems to think they don't need thier players
going by many of the (coughs) recent changes ( since Mar ).
It is creating either a mass exodus, or a mass aversion to
spending money into Elvenar. Certainly a mass revolt in
our displeasure with the trajectory around here.
An accepted rule of thumb is for every 1 person who
complains, there are 99+ who never say a word. They take
thier consumer $$s to another product/company. Another
rule of thumb is customer aquisistion costs far more than
customer retention. A 7-11 owner will say, the biggest
challange is getting ppl in the door, not selling them a
product once they are in the store. You need both good
customer svc, and a inventory that ppl want.... in order to
fulfill your customers wants/needs..... and thats After you
get them in the door in the 1st place. Finally, the golden
goose in advertizing is word-of-mouth, and by piss'n off
your current playerbase, you lose that. Not only do you
lose that, it might morph into negative-WoM, which can
bring down even the biggest of companies silently.
I can think of @least 1 example of a 800lb gorrilla in the
room, that if ever changed incorrectly will emplode the
game. If never changed, a few systemic probs with Elvenar
will never get addressed and will facilitate other changes
just as bad and detrimental to Elvenar.
Yes ultimately its Inno's decision, that also means get it
wrong, and the demise of Elvenar is also Inno's fault. My
guess is, as usuall, Inno will blame the playerbase instead
of themselves, and punish players with more insane chgs.
It all just makes this player............ very Sad.
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