Great Building Contest - Major Disappointment

[DeletedUser6112]

This is soo much an insult. I have been playing this game for a while but this may make a difference as to how I go forward.

If I look at the photo of the building posted in the forum
The little red car definately looks like a mid to late 30's roadster. I may be wrong if so please enlighten me. If it is an auto from 1930 or below then I can see where it would be included.

As both winners (one suggesting alcatraz) were both from germany I think it even more appalling that a prison be chosen. I am german dutch descent. I think that suggesting a prison where human atrocities were rampant is insensitive and a slap in the face to every American who plays this game.

What if an American suggests Auschwits or Sorbibor as a Great building for Germany's contribution to the world in the next age of the game?
Would the German developers be so quick as to agree this is how they want the game to portray their homeland? We have rules about discussing politics in chat and forums yet we will suffer controversy from the developers about just that by allowing this building to be called great.

The building in question is not great but rather infamous. A great building that represents the United States should be one that is first of all GREAT in that it promotes not tears down.
Secondly it should be a building that is easily recognized by peoples from all over the world. Put up a pyramid and everyone knows your talking about egypt. Put up a Statue of Liberty or a Lincoln Memorial or a White House or a Washington Monument and everyone knows your representing America.
The contest was about Great Buildings not Notorious ones or Infamouse ones. If the criteria is that of notoriety then the next era I hope to win with my suggestion of Auschwitz for German Fame.

 

[DeletedUser]

Auschwitz would not become a GB even if every player in every market voted for it. The German government has laws which forbid it. Personally I think comparing Alcatraz to a concentration camp is minimalizing the atrocities that occurred at those camps. the two are not even close.

The developers provided more options than just Alcatraz, that is the one that got voted in.

 

[DeletedUser]

The closer the game gets to the present day, the more nationalistic and emotional we will likely feel towards the game content.

The atrocities of the ancient Roman Coliseum were pretty awful, but I don't think anyone complained when it was introduced.

 

[DeletedUser5821]

Hey.You guys voted for Alcatraz.Yes it's a jail and not a very "great" place,but it took lots of tech for it.The bars the boats building on a small island and making it so secure...that has to have lots of tech included.

 

[DeletedUser4074]

I didn't. I wasn't allowed to vote, because I don't have a Facebook account. I would have voted for "anything but Alcatraz" had I been able to.

 

[DeletedUser5821]

OK,but it was still then one chosen to be the GB.Don't be mad at the developers,but the fellow players with FB.

 

[DeletedUser]

To say that the devs didnt choose Alcatraz, the players do is just a cop-out answer. Why was Alcatraz even in the short list to begin with? I understand the logic behind not choosing well-known landmarks like Statue of Liberty or Eiffel Tower because the devs do not want FOE to become a copycat of Civilization, but seriously, a prison? I do not believe for one second that the US does not have anything that can be remotely called a GB, that the Inno folks have to stretch their imagination quite a bit and chose Alcatraz.

 

[DeletedUser4072]

I think its a wonderful great building. Alcatraz is a National Historical Landmark and a National State Park of the United States. Both the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower were French built. I feel its nice to have something made in America.

For that matter there are plenty of great buildings that the US built and can be called Great. Here are a few
1) The Empire State Building
2) The Washington National Cathedral
3) Chrysler Building
4) Washington Monument (wouldn't this had made a great 2x2 GB?)
5) Grand Central Terminal (which I thought would be awesome to go with PE)
6) Library of Congress

As for picking Alcatraz, the Dev's choose the list of great buildings from players submissions but those players on facebook voted. It was the players of Forge of Empire's choice not "Inno folks"...

 

[DeletedUser]

As for picking Alcatraz, the Dev's choose the list of great buildings from players submissions but those players on facebook voted. It was the players of Forge of Empire's choice not "Inno folks"...

My point exactly. They could have gone with multiple better choices but instead chose a prison for voting.

 

[DeletedUser]

I didn't. I wasn't allowed to vote, because I don't have a Facebook account. I would have voted for "anything but Alcatraz" had I been able to.

Same here.
There are plenty, plenty of other things I would have chosen before Alcatraz. IMHO, the short list was flawed to begin with.

 

[DeletedUser5821]

You guys are taking this way too seriously it's just a game.The decisions were made and you can't change them.THE END..

 

[DeletedUser2652]

Entirely Appropriate

This will be a first for me. I have to say I'm extremely disappointed, if not just a tad bit offended. From electricity, the telephone, computers, automobiles, space travel and on and on, the United States and its people have contributed more to the Era of Progress than any other country in the world. And what's the best building the devs could come up with to represent the countless areas of technology coming out of the United States? A PRISON?
:hmph:

In all the areas you mention it is true that we initiated many of the technologies in your list, but sadly we have dropped the ball on most (goodby Detroit, Shuttle missions) and the rest of the world has taken it and run with them.
However there is one area where no one in the world can touch us. We are a pioneer in the field of incarceration of as many people as possible for as long as possible. We lead the world in the number of people per capita behind bars and the number of prisons to house them.
Alcatraz was the most celebrated start to Americas prison frenzy and a proud symbol of the one area where we are 'Still Number One!!!'
(Go Team America, World Police!)

 

[DeletedUser5821]

Yet with all our jail and protection we are about 4th in Death rate. I like Changelog 1.09 page.Alcatraz-New Great Building...voted by users so something like this doesn't happen again and people don't go crazy again being mad.

 

[DeletedUser4844]

Still can't believe the Eiffel Tower isn't one of the progressive era great buildings. When I think of structures built between 1880 and 1930, that's really the only one that comes to mind as a famous great building. Alcatraz is famous, but I'm not sure anyone would call it great.

 

[DeletedUser5821]

True...There also FLW buildings I think he had one or 2 before 1930.

 

[DeletedUser]

I think that suggesting a prison where human atrocities were rampant is insensitive and a slap in the face to every American who plays this game.

Not many people know about Alcatraz being anything other than a Prison. It's notoriety has long ago disappeared. If you were to ask ANYONE on ANY street of the USA if they knew that the Prison was a detention center at one time, they wouldn't know. I didn't know until I read the posts here, and I'm 54. It's not taught in our History books, and I blame that on our Government and the Liberal History writers. I learned something here and will do more research on the subject because it intrigs me. But to be insensitive to every American, they have to know the history of Alcatraz BEFORE it could be insensitive to them.

As for picking Alcatraz, the Dev's choose the list of great buildings from players submissions but those players on facebook voted. It was the players of Forge of Empire's choice not "Inno folks"...

Correct. All the Dev's did was choose the places that people suggested the most and put them out there for the players to vote on. I would have used something other than FaceBook to place them for the final vote though. Anyone could vote on one of the buildings, even if the didn't play the game.

 

[DeletedUser]

Still can't believe the Eiffel Tower isn't one of the progressive era great buildings. When I think of structures built between 1880 and 1930, that's really the only one that comes to mind as a famous great building. Alcatraz is famous, but I'm not sure anyone would call it great.

Alcatraz is infamous. That is why I think they picked it. It's extremely iconic too.

The effiel tower doesn't do anything. Its just a tourist trap. It would be a lame Coin/Happiness GB. At least Alcatraz could offer something unique to the GB list

 

[DeletedUser4844]

I think you'll find that, throughout most of the world, the Eiffel Tower is far, far more famous then Alcatraz, and where they are both known the eiffel tower is generally seen as an accomplishment whereas alcatraz, on a structural level, is just seen as a fairly large building.

 

[DeletedUser4074]

I can think of two reasons why we didn't get the Eiffel Tower: it was too obvious, so everybody would suggest it, and Paris already has Notre Dame in the game. I do think Alcatraz makes all of the Great Buildings feel less great, however.

 

[DeletedUser1771]

I was very offended by the choice...I had personally submitted a little known building here in Chicago because it was the building that helped set today's building standards for modern architecture....so with that I invite the devs to a personal tour of Chicago from someone whose family has been here for close to 168 yrs and whose grandfather was senior engineer with reversing the Chicago river...I just sent 12 German exchange students(Hamburg) on the architectural tour up the Chicago river to learn more about my city and American contribution to world architecture.