I can't take it anymore: going into long-term 2-click mode
Yfke van de Zand
I have been playing this game for 16 months already. I quickly find the game to be entertaining, if buggy sometimes, but more importantly I've found an awesome off-game activity related to it: forums, websites, tools etc.
I've seen several changes since I joined (by then, Divisions had just been introduced), some good, some not so good. Quickly I realized the business side of the game: it is a startup that needs to make a lot of RL money to made good on promise to investors, not some established game house.
So I could put up with several aspects that were not so great about it, as any other game has. However, while I understand the logic of needing to sell Gold to players to pay for servers, staff and what not, after the recent changes on "Taxation of Occupied Countries" I decided I don't want to play it anymore.
For a while I had this unease feeling that those behind the game are not only wanting to make RL income, but also engaging in upsetting everyone but 5-6 major RL-country game communities in exchange for short-term gains.
The Occupied Country taxation is just the last straw: it makes it enormously attractive for big countries to hold as many regions as possible (even more than now), it makes it against the interest of big nations to negotiate any sort of deal with smaller ones, even if they don't need it for bonuses, it takes away 80% of income of smaller countries and gives it to those much bigger than them, and just make it impossible to play if you are not part of one of the few big countries (who know will just go on an expansion spree to take over more income, thus making themsleves impossible to defeat).
Before all that, I had already calculated that a standard anti-Polish RW where they didn't put much effort would have cost around CC 2.600 Gold (and that just to win a medium-importance RW, not to hold it subsequently). Now, they made it much worse.
Yet, this time more than gaming mechanics I'm upset by the feeling the developers of the game really don't care about the most interesting (to me) aspect of the game: the numerous online communities and nuances brought by the use of a RL-map.
There are dozens of online games where you can gain some territory/resource, establish alliances with other players (Travian, for instance, which I used to play). Yet, you don't see many communities forming around them, as soon as the server reset people disband and start again (or not). This game is different, it has a "persistent universe" which resemble the RL world, thus it allowed an amazing collection of in-game history and narratives to emerge, complex relationships to develop etc. Yet, I'm let with the sour taste of a team that seems not to care about it a little.
They have an amazing "ecosystem" of players who stick around, many spending RL money on it (myself included with the stash packs and war chests once in a while) and they are willing to throw everybody who is not part of the most large countries under the bus, damned be whatever forum, IRC, website, community you have. That would make the RL country associations pointless, everybody would just join one of the few 4-6 big ficticious countries with max bonus and many MUs and every other country would just die off. This puts me off, more than occasional bugs, lagging interface, the presence of Denfese Systems on the marketplace menus though they haven't ever been active since I joined etc.
Therefore, starting Nov. 26th, I'll go into a strict 2-click mode. I'll quite my job, my MU, party and will just come to train and work on my comps for 15 seconds, waiting to see whatever happens. If after a couple months my dire predictions come true, then I'll probably just quit altogether and get a red smilley emoticon next to my name.
Comments
🙁
And yet, I agree.
Voted and hope the game improves, to see you back.
Good luck with RL o7
Sad to see you go but I understand your reasoning. I still have hope that they might add something good to this game, but with every update i get less.
You are so right, it is very tragic. 🙁
Sad to see you go and I agree with you, an admin told me in the end it will be good for Resistance ... but I couldn't imagine bigger stierenmest.
Chill out...set yourself some new goals, try to catch Resistance hero or few Freedom Fighter medals..Adopt new, young citizens and make killers out of them..there's always things to do beside game mech. Enjoy! 🙂
Sad to see you go gorgeous ......, and can't imagine a battlefield without you being on our side ....
I do understand why you would go into 2 clicker mode ,......... every update they do isn't making the game better but worse....and gets to the point that it gets to be frustrating.
Hopefully it will change soon and we'll see you back in our mids.
Best of luck IRL and plse do keep in touch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4#
Very sad to see you go Yfke. Although I also have this feeling from time to time, because this game is dying, I try to search and set new goals for myself. Let's hope there will come a time that this game really improves.
Sad to see a dedicated player as yourself go, but it is as you sai😛 the developers just dont give damn.
i think they give a damn, but they are friggen clueless..
Best of luck. o7
I understand. You're right. Once again Plato has decided to crush small nations and further empower nations that already have 8 to 10 times our population and sometimes more. This game is more of a joke than ever before and I didn't think they could ruin it even more but they just have. : /
Slowly drifting into inactivity 🙂
*slap*
This game is so unbalanced... I understand your decision. Have fun IRL....
While I completely understand your decision, it is still a sad day for eNL to lose a player like you.
The last update was really showing Plato's persistence in not showing any understanding towards the small nations. Even a fish has the iq to understand that this update makes things worse for small countries, they even ruined the mechanics that small countries renting area's from friends. Way the go Plato!
Nevertheless I feel more sad seeing you leaving this game than I am with the latest update, hope you fare well, best of luck with everything!
Cheers,
-Leo-
I'm really sorry to see you go Yfke. To me you were always a little bigger, stronger and more dedicated then I was. That was fun as you encouraged me to go after BH's and be more actively fighting.
With this latest update I fully agree with you, I fail to see anything positive about it, not just for us eNL, but in general from a game mechanics perspective. The results will be worst then people joining the big few countries though.
With people like you leaving it'll start a snowball effect, because without you and a few other people in the game I like to fight side by side with I don't see why I should stay myself.
Hope the game makers realize their mistake before it's too late.
Cheers,
Digaph
Totally understandable but very sad anyway. I hope the admins come to their senses soon so we'll see you being active again.
i have the impression that the RH thing is a good development tho.
Sad, but understandable for the most part. The latest change in taxation is indeed very hard to interpret otherwise than supporting those few big countries.
On the other hand; The new medal isn't.
And they are already for several months now trying to restore the balance in the economy by introducing several event that cause people to use larger quantities of resources. The decline of prices has already stopped and perhaps it will eventually cause a rise.
Even the re-introduction of tickets could help the average player by lessening the need of money.
I still have hopes, but as stated before; I can understand you're reasoning...
Dang it! I agree with Digaph too. 🙁
Very sad to see you going 2 click. And with Weekstrom I too hope the game will improve. That might you make consider getting back active soon I hope!!
V!
Imagine how much more participation you would get if becoming a large country was a challenge other than out-breeding everyone else. There would be real respect. Real achievement.
The mechanic need a rethink. Everything should try drag you back to being just average. Player can then face a real community challenge to rise above the mundane. The focus then moves back to the community instead of this selfish stupid obsession with bling and personal gain.