Just Another "@#$%ing Changes" Article

Day 1,299, 10:38 • Published in USA USA • by StygianSteel



I know there's probably a lot of these out there at this point. I've read a few and of course I say 'probably' because I can't be bothered with fully sifting through the broken media module, which I am somewhat ironically still using. Well... occasionally. That's old news though. What I'm here to talk about is of course more current rage.







If you're not interested in reading this rant or whatever just don't. I know it's been done. This article is more akin to a therapeutic venting session for myself. You have been warned.

I remember when I first came to this game in what seems like the long, long ago at this point. I had been a player of a nations simulation game, but had gotten bored with it. The idea of a social strategy game where I was a citizen and could make my way up the ladder in politics, economics, military, etc was an appealing one to me. Sounded like a winning formula at it's core and at first the execution seemed simple, but with potential. So like a good citizen I clicked away at my work skill & strength. Then as the game developed and I got further along in it I was a good customer and bought some gold to further my development.

Fast forward to the future...a player who's tired of waiting for potential and a player who's been stripped of a great deal of the effort he put into the game. Worker skill was not a minor thing to be tweaked in this game. It was one of the basic core elements where people could advance as a character. The removal of it frankly disgusting and would almost qualify as shocking if unwanted game changes weren't the norm around here.

Why oh why Plato? Why would you want to strip away one of the couple of things in the mechanics players cling to? Players want to be able to advance their characters and at this point all we have is strength and meaningless medals. This game should be seeking to broaden the game and add things with it's updates, not strip away chunks of the game and narrow it's focus.

I understand this is a business, but there's something you've got to take in. Many of us are not interested in just a war game and we're tired of waiting for the potential of this game. We're tired of waiting for this to really be a broad social strategy game. The only thing that makes it that at this time is the community which is constantly challenged and insulted by unwanted changes.

I get it... you want us to buy more gold. The military side of things seems like a good way to get it. There's something else you need to figure out however. I, and many others, are not interested in just a war game that fuels your need for gold. War is never what I really came here for. It's an aspect of the game, sure, but not the one everyone wants to focus on. You're not going to make gold unless you have a product customers want.

Right now I feel like a bag of cash you're trying to squeeze, not a player, and not even a customer. Or maybe a bag of blood for a vampire Plato to suck at. This game is in desperate need of public/customer relations and I feel like it is coming to a critical point. Customers want to feel like people who are appreciated. We do not want to feel like every update of this game is simply an attempt at extortion in order to stay competitive. That's exactly how many felt when they had to buy in to get a fully functional town hall. And what does this do? Just add more fights to maybe fuel the war machine of gold a little more.

Not every update can be this or your game is screwed. People will continue to drop off. What do we want? Updates that expand the game, not ones that encourage it to be a war machine. Things that improve the gameplay without a DIRECT money motive. Understand this very simple concept and perhaps the game can improve. Updates that are not so directly gold related could be a great thing and make us feel like more than bags of cash. Broadening the gameplay could bring you new players and make the current players feel more appreciated and interested. Think about making your customers happy instead of just trying to mercilessly squeeze the money out of them. Look at the limited scope of government, the broken media module, the social aspect... and increase the game experience. More customers and happier customers is surely a need for this game.

Maybe it's difficult to figure out changes Everyone wants, but being constantly prodded to the gold market and taking away the game's depth and character advancement is NOT what we want. So on behalf of all your customers I leave you this...