Next steps with Mobile Video Ads (Feedback thread)

[Kaidi]

The latest update wants me to watch an add for an additional 5 castle points per day and you've made the button so large for it that it's easy enough to accidentally click instead of the alternate option (which I'm sure was no accident).

I have a suspicion about that one. I think they intentionally made it large so people would complain about it - as they have been - so then they can make it smaller or remove it, and say "See? We listened!"

Eh, getting cynical in my old age I guess.

 

[SomePlayer5000]

hehe look at you approval by the community now mellofax

 

[Xenosaur]

hehe look at you approval by the community now mellofax

Nope... please don't blame anyone, ESPECIALLY @mellofax , as the messenger. We're here to present our feedback, and work to a common good for the community and the company, if we can. That's our first goal.

It's not his decision, he's the messenger (and perhaps has to be a mild "sherriff" to foster professionalism and forum decorum...), but this isn't on him to be the lightning rod for the corporate decision OR strategy.

 

[Xenosaur]

Indeed. The question being asked is not the question that needs to be asked.

As Yogi Berra opined, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there."

Yogi also said: When you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.

Yogi also probably said: When all you have is a hammer (in your toolbox), everything looks like a nail.

Both aptly apply in the current situation

 

[Oswyn the noble]

At $29.99 a month with forge plus to keep the ads at bay, that equates to almost 400 bucks..thats mind boggling insane inno.... I can deal with it being 29 bucks a year.

 

[NWWAkamai]

I uninstalled it from my phone and now only play on PC. More time for other stuff and less time with the phone. Thanks Inno! I know they're going to add this to PC versions as well sooner or later and that's when I'll move on. One door closes and another one opens...

 

[SomePlayer5000]

Nope... please don't blame anyone, ESPECIALLY @mellofax , as the messenger. We're here to present our feedback, and work to a common good for the community and the company, if we can. That's our first goal.

It's not his decision, he's the messenger (and perhaps has to be a mild "sherriff" to foster professionalism and forum decorum...), but this isn't on him to be the lightning rod for the corporate decision OR strategy.

I know but considering that the majority of the community is now against it, we need to send that message to Inno, no matter what kind of staff. I havent seen any feedback from them on community opinion in Announcements yet, and barely if not no messages from staff on this thread. We just have to get them to listen.

 

[Johnny B. Goode]

That is just wrong. I have nit gotten a single ad yet, likely do to me not being in the test group for them. However, I am a player of the feel that I should voice my concerns and opinions on Inno doing a full roll out on their ad plays for the game. So saying "well if you're not getting them, then you have no reason to voice anything" comes off a little off handled.

We all play the game, we all know their plan is to roll this out in full. We all, as players have a right to voice our concerns and opinions. I see putting ads into the game as a death nail to the game as a whole.

You misunderstood my point. I was just saying that the fact that this thread made it sound like everyone got the ads was misleading because those who got the ads were way more likely to post here. In no way did I say that players like you (and myself) had no right to have an opinion and to share it here. That is something others may say, but not me.

 

[Johnny B. Goode]

I know but considering that the majority of the community is now against it, we need to send that message to Inno, no matter what kind of staff. I havent seen any feedback from them on community opinion in Announcements yet, and barely if not no messages from staff on this thread. We just have to get them to listen.

Rest assured that it is being passed on, I am fully confident in that. And you won't see any feedback from the "powers that be" (the decision makers, not the staff here) until they've made a decision. Finally, it is not the job of the Forum staff, even the CMs, to say anything on this thread, only to keep it as civil as they can through moderation, and to pass on the information to their superiors. Forum staff has nothing at all to do with decision making as far as game features and mechanics are concerned.

 

[Emberguard]

I fail to understand the validity of the A/B testing? A/B testing would imply that some aren't getting the advertisements? But, from the comments, it appears that ALL on mobile are getting the advertisements?

On my account that I spent money on for EN, I don't have the advertisements for mobile. So yes, it would be a A/B test between the new and old system

Likely those not commenting are those unaware of the change (because it's still in A/B)

 

[SomePlayer5000]

Rest assured that it is being passed on, I am fully confident in that. And you won't see any feedback from the "powers that be" (the decision makers, not the staff here) until they've made a decision. Finally, it is not the job of the Forum staff, even the CMs, to say anything on this thread, only to keep it as civil as they can through moderation, and to pass on the information to their superiors. Forum staff has nothing at all to do with decision making as far as game features and mechanics are concerned.

kk. I was also not blaming the staff in any way and was trying to inform them. Thanks for the info.

 

[Notorious RHG]

Exchange rate, different countries.

Day5 of not playing. Found another game, it's sufficient. After day 3, I haven't had the urge to play.

It's not just exchange rates. I have a guild mate from the US just like me that initially had a price tag of 39.99 instead of the 29.99 that everyone else had. At the time he was spending massive amounts of diamonds, but after learning that he was being given the sucker's price he's not spent a dime on the game since.

 

[Heraclius 1294 the Brash]

Rediculous. I work long hours at night, and play forge of empires after work to relax. I’ve spent a few hundred bucks over the years playing to buy diamonds too. I won’t sit and watch ads. I want to play the damn game, not watch stupid ads. I’ll delete forge of empires and quit playing the second ads start getting crammed down my throat. Go ahead and do it, and you’ll lose about 75% of your players including those who buy diamonds regularly. What a joke. Just what everyone wants, to start playing and watch damn ads you idiots

 

[TopCatUSMC]

Well in all honesty I’m going to return to playing the game and avoid the ads like I would avoid a land mine. I’ll go back to aiding everyone one by one versus watching an ad to aid all automatically. I’ll zip through to the tavern seats to collect and avoid the tavern ad. Those incidents throughout my city will collect dust like scrap metal cars left in yards with grass growing all around them. That castle reward for watching an ad can be avoided by just taking the smaller reward. I’ll play for the time being while I can avoid the ads and they don’t turn on automatically every 5 seconds and inno can just know that ads won’t be watched by me at all.

 

[GoddessDawn]

These ads are intrusive, annoying, and not going to make me spend more money. I don't pay $30.00 a month for my internet and sure can't afford it for one game. I have enough trouble when I play on my phone. I can't always play on my PC due to medical issues. I hate to leave the game but this is pushing me that way.

 

[Athanasia 2368 the Cruel]

And how would one know that1 there was an A/B test going on if it wasn't happening in their world?
Inno wants to make us feel like we have a voice in this, we don't.
Why would anyone playing this game want video ads added to it. I can't think of any reason to say 'wow I wish I could watch a bunch of ads in my game play, that would be a great addition". So as soon as the comments die down, whether you quit the game or just deal with it, the ads are here to stay. Browser based is next, and they won't have a choice.
This is not about how you feel about the ads, it's your introductuon to the ads, to make you feel you have a voice. Don't think you do, this is not a democracy, it's a corporation.
You will watch ads and you will like it. Even though it ruins the game as we know it.
The deleted comments tells volumes on your voice in this.

 

[RazorbackPirate]

Well in all honesty I’m going to return to playing the game and avoid the ads like I would avoid a land mine. I’ll go back to aiding everyone one by one versus watching an ad to aid all automatically. I’ll zip through to the tavern seats to collect and avoid the tavern ad. Those incidents throughout my city will collect dust like scrap metal cars left in yards with grass growing all around them. That castle reward for watching an ad can be avoided by just taking the smaller reward. I’ll play for the time being while I can avoid the ads and they don’t turn on automatically every 5 seconds and inno can just know that ads won’t be watched by me at all.

With this post, I officially declare the dust up over. After all the bluster this is the choice most will make. The folks who'll quit have already done so, the largest guilds losing less than a handful of players. What's that work out to, 1-2% of players? Barely a blip in the road, all upside from here.

Once again, Inno proves that they know their customers, better than the know themselves. Wonder how long before the B rollout begins?

 

[BossJZ]

With this post, I officially declare the dust up over. After all the bluster this is the choice most will make. The folks who'll quit have already done so, the largest guilds losing less than a handful of players. What's that work out to, 1-2% of players? Barely a blip in the road, all upside from here.

Once again, Inno proves that they know their customers, better than the know themselves. Wonder how long before the B rollout begins?

I politely disagree. I play on browser 99% of the time. I'm not quitting until the ads show up on browser. So, strong likelyhood I *will* quit, but, not just yet. Or, at least until a browser based ad smacks me in the face. However, I did demonstrate my displeasure by deleting all my diamond farm cities.

 

[Kaidi]

I’ll zip through to the tavern seats to collect and avoid the tavern ad.

Does mobile have filtering for the Event History in town hall? I'm on computer. I find it easiest to refresh, view the Event History, "All Players" to Friends, and "All Events" to Friend Events, then it gives you pages of "Visit Tavern" buttons, some live, some grayed out. It's really fast.

 

[Kaidi]

The folks who'll quit have already done so

Not quite. I'm taking a two week game break now, see how it goes. I will log in most mornings, collect, dump it on random GBs and log off. Right now I feel that it's only a matter of time until similar/same happens on the browser version. As I posted earlier, I'm a diamond player, mainly because I'm lazy and impatient, lol. But I'm not comfortable spending further, because I think it is inevitable that I will quit. I'll see how I feel about it in a couple of weeks, and how the servers react when the A/B test is over and the changes become permanent for all.

As has been stated here, a lot of people are still ad-free, aren't aware this is coming, and are going to be a bit shocked. We'll go through all this angry commenting all over again. lol.